


ma maison c'est toi

by flying_elliska



Series: seasonal prompts [1]
Category: SKAM (France)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - College/University, Bad Weather, Best Friends, Boy Squad Bonding, Creepy Girl Squad, Creepy Guesthouse, Dark Comedy, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Haunted Houses, Idiots in Love, M/M, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Mystery, Not Actually Unrequited Love, POV Multiple, Power of Friendship, Sharing a Bed, Spooky, Supernatural Elements, Surprise Sapphics, gothic vibes, in the middle of nowhere, sharing a blanket
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-15 15:35:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 23,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21255668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flying_elliska/pseuds/flying_elliska
Summary: Lucas, Eliott and the rest of the Boy Squad are en route towards their autumn lake house vacation, when bad weather forces them to stop for the night at a beautiful, but eerie guesthouse in the middle of nowhere. The hostesses seem friendly, but strange, as if stuck in another era. They warn the boys to stay inside their rooms during the night, for their own sake...but of course, they don't take it as seriously as they should. Now the question is : will they make it to the morning ?More importantly : will Lucas ever come clean to his best friend about his longstanding crush on him ? Will Eliott finally manage to tell Lucas what has been weighing on him and causing him to distance himself ? And will Basile ever make it back from his ill advised trip to the bathroom ?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally meant to be a fic drabble for the [100 Autumn Prompts List](https://flying-elliska.tumblr.com/post/187901126671/100-autumn-fic-prompts), n°40 (Sharing a Blanket) and 86 (Staying Over in Bad Weather)
> 
> true to form, it...ran away from me. i had it sitting in my drafts for a while and then I realized...i really need to get this one out today lmao 
> 
> I will try to post the end of this later today. 
> 
> meant to be a little spooky, a little scary (but nothing actually gruesome or horrible), a little angsty, quite fluffy, and of course lots of fun. Enjoy, and Happy Halloween ^^

SAMEDI 19:53 - LUCAS 

The rain starts falling in sheets across the windshield of the car, with thunderous noise. Around the road, the thick forest closing in on them is barely even visible - only thick tree trunks and branches swaying in the wind.

It's anything but inviting. 

Yann, behind the wheel, swears and leans forward, slowing the car until it's pushing 10 km/h. When they arrive at a fork in the road, he stops the car entirely on the sideways. 

“I can’t see shit. I’m going to drive us into a ditch.”

“Well, can we take a moment to remind ourselves I predicted this ?” Arthur says. “Letting Basile do the navigating is a recipe for disaster.” 

“Oh come on, dude, it’s not my fault !” Basile turns around from the passenger seat, showing them his phone. “Google Maps clearly said there was a short cut there we should have found twenty kilometers or so ago. It’s not my fault it just...like...disappeared.” 

Arthur grabs the phone from him. “What about your brain, did it disappear too ? Because this is clearly a dirt road. You wanted us to take a dirt road, at night ? In the middle of fucking nowhere ?” 

“Well I didn’t know we would get lost ! These signs make no sense. There isn’t even supposed to be a road right where we are !” 

“Chill, guys” Lucas says “We’ll just have to stop for the night. There has to be a hotel somewhere close. What do you think, Eliott ?” Lucas asks his best friend, who is sitting on the other end of the backseat.    
  
Eliott barely looks away from where he is staring from the window, out into the night. 

“Oh yeah, I’m fine with whatever.” 

Lucas frowns. Eliott has been worryingly distant the last few weeks. Lucas has been willing to chalk it up to the pressure from Eliott’s last year before graduation, but he’d been hoping that they could use this vacation to reconnect. He’s worried they’re growing apart. That after they get their diplomas and enter adult life fully...they are going to drift apart. 

And that’s just not something he can let happen.

He has to do  _ something _ . 

And that’s got nothing to do with the fact that he’s been in love with Eliott practically since the day they met ; no.

Eliott is his  _ person _ . His best friend, his rock, his family. He can’t even imagine what his life would be without him in it. Even thinking about it makes him sick. When they're out of tune, everything feels wrong. 

So, even if the car breaking down in the middle of nowhere forces them to spend the night in a cramped, cold car piled one on top of each other, he  _ will _ use this opportunity to get some long overdue, quality bonding time. 

“Okay, guys, look. There’s a guesthouse about half an hour from here. We can totally call them and ask if they got room. It’s not even that late.” Basile says enthusiastically. He shows them a website on his phone. The pictures are gorgeous - taken at night, a stone mansion with an ivy covered façade, high windows and white roses blooming all around it. 

“That looks way too expensive, Bas.” Lucas says. 

“Yeah, and creepy.” Arthur adds. 

“No but look, it’s the off season ! They’ve lowered their rates ! 120 per room, it’s not that expensive if we split, right ?” 

“Even creepier. It’s like a “please come get murdered” sign.” Arthur says. “Can’t we just find a Formule 1 roadside hotel or something ?” 

“There’s nothing like that around here.” Basile adds. “The closest thing to a city is hours away.” 

"It could be cool," Lucas adds. "Eliott could tell ghost stories again." He winces as soon as he is done talking. How desperate and clingy he must sound, right now. Yikes. But Eliott barely smiles and nods. He looks lost I'm his own thoughts.

"Wicked !" Basile says. 

“Yeah guys, sorry to play dictator, but I’m not going to drive hours in this weather. So unless you maybe wanna try sleeping in a tree.” Yann cuts in, “I say murder house.” As the owner of the car and their only reliable driver, his opinion matters a lot. 

“Come on, Arthur, where’s your sense of adventure ? It will be fun !” Basile says before he starts chanting."Murder House ! Murder House ! Murder House !"

Arthur rolls his eyes. "Well dude, if anything creepy happens, you're on your own. I'm not rescuing you." 

So murder house it is. Basile makes a call, and it turns out they have room. They drive there, painstakingly slowly. Lucas keeps an eye on Eliott the whole time, who barely moves or gives a sign of life. 

* * *

SAMEDI 20:35 - LUCAS 

  
  
Half an hour later, they drive through a beautiful, iron wrought gate, and park in front of the house. In the late October storm, it's less alluring and almost...well, gothic, reminiscent of an old horror movie house : grand, a little on the shabby side, the dried up vines and big windows in the darkened facade giving it a sinister vibe. It is still very impressive.

They probably have good sheets, Lucas thinks, ever the pragmatist. Definitely better than sleeping in a tree or in the car. Even though that could have been an excuse to end up "accidentally" with head on Eliott's shoulder like the last time they had a sleepover. 

Ugh. He is so pathetic. 

They grab their bags, and walk up to the massive door. Basile uses the old fashioned, claw shaped door-knocker with enthusiasm. 

A young woman opens the door, a strong scent of white flowers wafting through with her.

She looks lovely, even Lucas can recognize, with bright blue eyes and golden ringlets framing her face, drawn back in an old fashioned style. But almost unnaturally pale, veins visible on the skin of her neck. She reminds him of a porcelain doll.

"Come in, come in !" She greets them enthusiastically. "Don't stay out there in the rain." 

They step into the hallway, with a collective gasp. The place is very...fancy, with a crystal chandelier and a large staircase of dark, polished wood. The tiled floor is covered with a lush, deep red carpet. Lucas feels guilty when he notices they are dragging mud in, but there isn't much they can do. 

"So, um, welcome ! My name is Daphné, I will be your hostess tonight." The young woman continues, with a radiant smile. With her lace blouse and long black skirt, she fits perfectly in the environment of the house. 

Lucas risks a glance sideways. Sure enough, Basile's mouth is hanging open. He sighs. It's too late for this shit. 

She helps them hang their dripping coats in the atrium, and then through a dining room with a long table and stained glass windows where she explains food will be served. 

Finally they arrive to a wide drawing room, walls lined with an expensive library of old books. In front of a roaring fire, another young lady is sitting in a chair, with a book in her hand. When Daphne knocks on the side of the door delicately before entering, she raises her face towards them and smiles slowly. 

There is something cold in her eyes, Lucas notices. They're just as blue as Eliott's, but while Eliott's are full of sunshine, hers are ice. It sends a chill to Lucas's spine. She is even paler than Daphne, her skin like translucent marble, her lips blood red. She wears a black lace dress with a high collar, her posture stiff. Even more than the other young woman, she seems like she stepped out of a period movie. 

She paces towards them, and laces her arm around Daphne's. 

"Good evening. My name is Manon. Welcome to my home. I hope you will have a good stay here. Don't hesitate to ask if you need anything." Her voice is deep, and a little scratchy as if with disuse. 

Lucas really doesn't think he wants to ask her anything. He's probably being a drama queen but there is something about her that gives him the creeps. 

After that, Daphne guides them upstairs, along another long corridor, the walls lined with old paintings, the lights between them glowing low and otherworldly. While Basile is making moon eyes at her, the other guys are looking around with a mix of awe and suspicion on their faces. This place has a really spooky vibe but in a cool way. This is going to be an exciting adventure to talk about later, for them. 

Not for Lucas, however, or Eliott, who is looking at...nothing much. He's been sleepwalking ever since they left Paris. And to be honest, he'd been ignoring Lucas even before. It's really that, and not their situation, which makes the pit of dread at the bottom of Lucas's stomach grow. But he doesn't know what to do about it. He knows Eliott hates it when he goes all mother hen on him, and he doesn't want to suffocate him. 

Daphne stops in front of one of several heavy, engraved wooden doors. This one opens on a luxurious, but very old fashioned room, with green tapestry on the walls and green carpet on the ground, a pair of twin beds and a cot under the window. 

"Alright, so we have this one left...the cot is a bit less large, I am afraid, and with the thunder it might be a bit too noisy, but…" 

"It's perfect, I'll take the cot." Basile says, in a rush to distinguish himself as generous. He goes and dunks his bags on the bed. Arthur follows, and Yann looks at Lucas. 

"You guys are sharing as usual, right ?"

Eliott shrugs. Lucas's heart makes a weird abortive motion at his lack of enthusiasm. He feels like a weathervane, keenly attuned to each of Eliott's tiny little mood shifts, and the tension is playing a number on his heart and nerves. 

Daphne leads them to the next room. This one is decorated in tones of deep, soothing blue, the tapestries swirling with constellations, clouds and planets. 

And in the middle of the room ?

One single bed.

Lucas feels a strange thrill mixed with dread run along his skin.

"I'm sorry about the bed, this is um… a couple's room but our others are either occupied or in renovation, so…I mean I didn't mean to assume, but..."

"It's alright," Eliott says, voice soft. "We're used to sharing." The return of emotion, no matter how faint, immediately makes something bloom in Lucas's chest, warm and dizzying. In a small way it feels like Eliott is claiming him ; reestablishing that they belong at each other's side. Maybe everything isn't lost.

Daphne steps aside to let them pass. 

Of course they're used to sharing. They're used to doing everything together, no shame, no awkwardness. Lucas has learned to put his feelings aside, to domesticate the need perpetually bubbling under his skin into a quiet simmer. This is the Eliott he can have, and he is so grateful already. He can't afford to be greedy. 

Even though sometimes he wonders...

This is such a dangerous path of thought but... It's just…no.

Maybe it's the way he feels like Eliott is slipping through his fingers. It makes him want to cling. 

Lucas barely notices as Daphne bids them goodbye and vanishes, the door shutting behind them ; his attention is purely focused on Eliott as they drop their bags. 

"Are you tired ? Because I know the guys would want to go eat but we don't have to, and…"

"It's okay, Lucas. Just...go with the guys. I'll figure it out." 

"I can stay if you…" He doesn't know how to finish that sentence. Eliott doesn't answer, just shrugs. 

Lucas bites his lip, and a wall of unbidden sadness hits him. This is unfamiliar to him. They fight, sometimes, yes. But they know why, and it never lasts long, and then they're in each other's orbit again, as it should be. But now...

He doesn't know what the issue is. He is stumbling around in the dark. 

"Eliott…" He says softly, almost whispering. "You know you can tell me anything, right ?" 

Eliott turns his head around, too quickly, his eyes wide like a deer in the headlights. 

"Yeah." He answers. "I know but...this time, I don't know. I don't think it would be fair." 

What ? What is it that Eliott thinks he can't tell him ? 

Eliott keeps staring at him, expression torn, reluctant. Like he is struggling with the weight of keeping himself from speaking. 

Lucas doesn't get to know, though, because then the door bursts open and the guys invade their room. 

Fucking hell, they've always had the worst timing. In the world. If Lucas and Eliott ever were to get close to kissing he is sure these idiots would manage to barge in right before.

If, if, if...

"Alright guys. It's strategy time." Basile starts as he plops down on their bed. "That Daphne is to-ta-lly into me. So." 

Arthur snorts. "Dude, no she isn't. Didn't you see her with the girl downstairs ? They're totally lesbians." 

"Pfft, that's ridiculous. They have to be like...cousins or something. No...the way she was looking at me, it was like...she couldn't resist my raw animal magnetism. I mean look at this house...the repression is just like oozing from the walls. Bet they haven't seen a man in aaaages."

"Yeah you're doing that thing again where your mouth is moving but it's just nonsense words coming out, dude." Arthur replies. 

"Well...we won't know if we don't spend more time with them, won't we ?" Eliott proposes lightly. Lucas feels a pang of sudden betrayal, as if he wanted to make sure him and Lucas didn't have to spend any time alone. 

* * *

SAMEDI 21: 26 - ELIOTT 

They're sitting at the table, downstairs. The room is lit by old chandeliers, in warm tones, and by the intermittent bolt of lightning from outside. The rain is even fiercer now, hitting the windows with fury. It looks very much like a movie set, Eliott muses. 

On the other side of the room a clock is ticking, the seconds slow like molasses. The atmosphere is...heavy, somehow. Daphne said she was bringing them dinner, and now they're waiting. It's very kind of her, to go to all this trouble to accommodate last minute guests. Still, it's not enough to make the place feel welcoming. There is something the walls of the house, Eliott reflects, something...not quite right. Restless. Lonely. 

On the other side of the table, Lucas is staring at him, his deep blue eyes, so familiar and so dear to him, a brand on Eliott's face. Glimmering in the low light of the dining room, with confusion, anger, hurt. 

And Eliott knows he put that hurt there, by isolating himself. He hates himself for it. 

The truth lies in his mouth like a knot in his tongue. So simple and yet so impossible to speak.

_ Lucas, I might have to leave you. I really don't want to. But I know I have no right to want you to ask me to stay.  _

"Soooo….this wasn't such a bad idea, right ? They're nice." Yann says, trying to lighten the mood. 

Lucas looks at him with a baleful face, Arthur scoffs. Basile opens his mouth, regrettably.

"Nice ? Guys. This is more than nice, this is fate. Have you seen how she -" 

"Basile, your fly is open." Lucas says sharply.

Basile looks down. "What ? No it's not."

Daphne steps into the room, and sets a tray on the table carrying steaming bowls of soup and slices of warm bread. 

Basile lets out a loud noise of approval. "Wow. You're the perfect woman." 

Daphne has a sly sort of smile, looking at him through batting eyelashes, clashing with her demure appearance. Like a spider looking at a fly, he thinks. 

Wow, where did that come from ? Arthur is right, this place is creepy. Beautiful, but stuck in the past like it can't move on. 

It's cruelly fitting, Eliott thinks. 

The soup is tomato, a deep rich red that tastes slightly canned, and the bread was unfrozen in the toaster. As if they had no fresh food in the house. It's the off-season, Eliott figures. But didn't they say the other rooms were occupied ? He can't imagine there were a lot of other places to get food around here. But maybe they ran out. 

He can see on Lucas's face he is thinking, too. His clever eyes are grave, one point of a tooth pressing into lower lip like he always does when he is pondering something. 

Not for the first time, he wishes they could communicate telepathically, simply sync up their brains. It would make everything so much easier- there would be no place for shame, or stupid decisions made from a false sense of responsibility (but really cowardice.) 

Lucas would just know...everything. How Eliott really feels. And he would have to judge, weigh Eliott's sins against his virtues. There would be nowhere to hide. It's terrifying. But appealing at the same time. Something to strike down these walls he has trapped himself behind. 

The guys are talking again, about their upcoming lake house vacation. Chilling, video games, scary movies, beers, hiking, bonfires. Nothing but bro time. Is he really going to spend all that time hiding to avoid telling Lucas the truth ? Is that even sustainable ? 

"So" Lucas starts, eyes directly planted into Eliott's, "you're gonna show me how to make a fire properly this time, right ?" It sounds like he is asking something else, but Eliott doesn't exactly know what. 

Eliott nods. 

"Good." Lucas smiles. "I want the next one we make together to be visible from the other side of the valley." 

He didn't know Lucas was a budding arsonist. Or is that a metaphor, he thinks, alarmed. Shouldn't he know that ? Isn't he the artist ? 

_ You've been playing games with your best friend. He might be the least literary guy on Earth, but of course he would catch on to your love language, eventually. _

"Hey, gotta make memories, right ?" Lucas continues, eyes hooded. 

It's as if it's nothing but them in the room, them and the idea of fire. Kindling piled up over years and years until it could do nothing else but burst into flames. 

And burn until there is nothing left.

That's his worst fear. Because the truth is : he knows.

He knows and he is a coward. 

He knows how his best friend looks at him sometimes. Lucas isn't subtle. And they are too close to hide something like this, especially in the moments when the walls come down. It had made his heart soar in the beginning. But he let himself think too much _ , it would ruin us if I reciprocated, I'm a good crush, but I'm rotten work to love, spoiled from the inside out _ .  _ You'll grow out of it _ .  _ We're so good as friends. It's a miracle I even found you. _ The idea of even risking losing him was unbearable. 

But here they are, years and years later, and Lucas is not a lost boy anymore, he's a man forging his path in life. But the looks are still there. More hesitant, more subdued, but still. 

And now, life is pulling at the ties that bind them. The circumstances that brought them together in the first place are slowly starting to fall apart. Soon they won't be students anymore. They'll have to make choices, real choices. 

And at the very own moment where Eliott should be considering the forging of his own path, he is too busy dying at the idea Lucas might not be there to look at him anymore, one day.

Eliott opens his mouth, but before he can discover what he would say as he spoke, Manon slinks into the room. 

Lucas turns his head to her, a shadow of anger coming over his face. 

She sits at the head of the table, resting her chin on her interlaced hands.

"So, you seem well settled in. Where are you going next ?" 

It's an innocent question, but the way she asks is pointed, her eyes just a little bit too eager, too inquisitive. 

"We're going to the lake house of this one's family." Basile says, pointing at Arthur. "Just some quality bro-bonding time."

Eliott gets a sudden, instinctive need to shut him up. As if he was revealing too much.

"Anybody expecting you there ?" 

Now that's an outright  _ weird _ question. 

"Nah," Basile prattles on obliviously. "We're going to be free as birds up there."

"Ok, but Bas, Arthur's mom is swinging by tomorrow to bring us food, right ?" Yann cuts in, blessedly a little more alert. 

"Yeah, totally." Arthur adds. Basile shuts up, thankfully, looking confused. 

Manon has a wan smile.

"Lucky you. It sounds like a lot of fun. Well, gentlemen, you should go to bed. You need to be well rested if you have to travel tomorrow." She gets up again. 

As she is almost out, she turns around. 

"I do have to insist, however, that you keep to your chambers tonight. If you have an urgent need, you will find bells next to your beds. If you ring them, Daphne will be there with you shortly. But for the rest I have to insist on preserving the peace of all of our guests." The latter sounds a lot like a preemptive rebuke. They all nod, slightly puzzled, before she leaves the room in a swish of black silk. 

They don't start talking until they are all upstairs, piled up on the beds in the green room.

"Ok, so that was weird, right ?" Yann asks. "That question about who was expecting us...very um...is anybody going to miss you if we murder you sort of weird." 

"Oh come on ! They're not murderers! I mean look at them. They're so beautiful!" Basile says, goofy expression on his face. 

"Women can be killers too, you know." Arthur says. 

"You're so dramatic, pshhhh. What are you like, 50 ? Live a little."

Arthur sighs. "I should have taken a plane."

"I don't think they're murderers." Lucas says calmly. "A bit awkward, yes, and probably lonely, but not murderers. Besides," he smirks. "If they wanted to kill us they probably did it already."

He leaves a pause for dramatic effect. 

"By poisoning the soup, obviously."

They all swear at him but Eliott can't help but laugh. The little shit. 

Suddenly, he feels a bone deep need to be alone with him again. He's missed his best friend, so, so much. 

* * *

  
  


SAMEDI 22: 15 - LUCAS

  
  


They're still laughing when Eliott stands and stretches, saying he is going to call it an early night. He looks at Lucas all the while. 

And damn - Lucas knows he is probably setting himself up for heartbreak but shit. He's hardwired to respond. 

So he follows Eliott to bed. They end up brushing their teeth in the little blue-tiled bathroom, side by side. So domestic, Lucas's traitor brain supplies. In their tee-shirts and boxers, because they didn't feel like opening their suitcases and making a mess. No biggie. Totally cool and platonic and shit. 

He wants to ruffle Eliott's golden brown hair and pull him in by his shirt and sneak his hands through where it's riding up and draw him close and press against him and feel how warm - No. 

He spits in the sink and cuts that train of thought short. He can't afford to go there if they're going to spend the night sleeping side by side.

They're about to settle down when they discover - not only is the bed queen size, made for a couple, which means a little bit smaller than platonic bed mates would be comfortable with, it has a single blanket - and a tiny one at that.

"It's okay." Lucas says "You can take it. I'll sleep in my hoodie." 

"Don't be stupid." Eliott says. "We should ring Daphne."

"Yeah, maybe."

But neither of them moves to do it. Maybe because there is something very unsettling about their hostesses...maybe they just want to be alone. 

So Eliott jostles the blanket until he can turn it sideways and cover both their legs and feet, leaving their upper bodies with nothing but a sheet. 

Lucas grabs at the sheet to pull it over his shoulder and hide his shiver. 

They find themselves lying down facing each other. 

Eliott looks so soft, like this. All masks thrown aside, vulnerable. Lucas feels so lucky. He wouldn't exchange this for anything in the world.

"Lucas…" Eliott whispers. "I have something to tell you. But I don't know how."

They've moved a lot closer, somehow. Lucas can see the details of Eliott's face in high definition. The wayward specks of gold in his eyes, the shadow of stubble on his jaw. He can't help but wonder, for a hazy second, what it would feel like against his own skin. 

But he's had these kinds of thoughts before ; he knows how to rein them in. 

Eliott's never been this cagey, though. And suddenly Lucas isn't sure if he wants to know anymore. What if….what if what Eliott has to say, it changes everything ? What if Eliott knows about Lucas's feelings and doesn't return them and tells him he is getting with someone else ? 

What if he does return them ? What would that mean for them, right here, right now ? 

It frightens him. Eliott has been there for him consistently ever since he was 16 and the coloc went sideways and he needed a place to crash. He's seen Eliott at his best and worst, through episodes and struggles and therapy. They've gotten each other through the end of high school and the beginning of university. 

Why is Eliott so scared of saying whatever he has to say that he would isolate himself ? What could be so bad he can't seem to trust Lucas with the truth ? 

"It's okay. Whatever it is, we will be okay." Lucas says. They will be, they have to be. "But can we...it's late. Can we just stay here like this for now ? And you can tell me tomorrow. Night brings guidance, right ?" 

Lame. But his heartbeat is hammering into his mouth and threatening to spill out. He can't take any confessions now, not while they're so close, in this weird house where everything seems a little askew, not while Eliott looks so soft and they have a whole night of sharing this bed to go through.

Eliott smiles, a little sad and very tender, as if he understands Lucas's anguish. Then he nods. "Alright, tomorrow." And he turns to switch off the bedside lamp. 

That's that, then.

But Eliott turns back towards him. And they're even closer now, the dark mass of him only visible in the faint moonlight slipping through the Venetian blinds. So close he can feel Eliott's breath on his skin. The scent that fills Lucas's nose, so familiar and yet so new every time - rain, salt and ink, resin, smoke, clean sweat, gingerbread, honey. Eliott smells like a mystery - a forest and a city all rolled in one. It thrills him and soothes him in equal measure. 

And then, out of nowhere...he feels the faintest pressure on his skin. The ghost trace of fingers running along his lower left arm. Eliott's fingers, barely touching him, and his skin goes to goosebumps in a second.

And he dies a little, as the sensation sends sparks flying under his skin and right to his spine.

Eliott's fingers, just skating on the surface of his skin, barely touching, utterly deniable, and it's setting Lucas's whole body on fire.

"Lucas" Eliott whispers. "You're my best friend, you know that, right ?" 

Lucas wants to yell at him,  _ that's not a thing that friends do with each other you fucker,  _ and he wants to kiss him breathless. But it could mean anything and everything and Eliott has always been tactile, openly affectionate. So he bites down instead, lets the  _ what does this mean _ echo through his head and lets the heat slowly melt and diffuse inside his body. 

But before he does, he leans in a little, just a little, so he can feel his own breath trace Eliott's lips as he replies, heart racing on a track with no end in sight,

"And you're mine." 

  
  


* * *

SAMEDI 23:53 - ELIOTT

Eliott can’t sleep. He tosses and turns. He tries to pace his thoughts, but they race wild ahead of him. He listens to Lucas’ breath slowly go from held-in and consciously low to more relaxed and natural. 

He hasards a glance sideways. Not much is visible except a sliver of Lucas’ face brushed by a ray of faint silver light. An edge of his cheekbone, a trace of fluttering eyelid. It stills his heart in a second, and suddenly his fingers are aching for a paintbrush, a pencil, anything to capture this moment. He wishes he were a better poet, that he could give a name to the confusing impulses of his heart -  _ to hold, to cherish, to protect, to preserve, to admire, to melt, to keep away, to hide, to open up. _

But he gets this feeling he has when he starts a project - that everything inside of him is this mountain of scrambled meaning, dark and pressing down on his shoulders, a wordless screaming tangle of directionless yearning. Making him feel artless, undone. Powerless. And the empty page in front of him is hostile. 

But this is worse, because this project is his life, and he can’t use others as pigment. 

Suddenly the air in the room becomes irrespirable, and he gets up. Grabs his bag of tobacco and roll-up leaves and lighter. Buttons up his pants as silently as he can, wincing as the still muddy wet hems touch his ankles, and tiptoes out of the room. 

He’s thinking of going downstairs and find a window to open somewhere - he knows what their hosts said. But they probably wanted to avoid loud college students traipsing all over the place, if he’s alone and careful it should be fine 

\- when he hears a very faint piano melody. Coming from an open door at the end of the hallway, the light escaping from the door cutting a slice of silver on the carpet. 

It’s sad, and beautiful, and so faint he’s drawn forward despite himself. 

He pushes the door open, as discreetly as he can. 

The room is a library, bathed in moonlight with no other light source, walls lined with books floor to ceiling. And in the corner, in front of a majestic piano, a young woman sits playing. In her poofy white dress, spilling onto the floor like a wave, she captures the light, like a strange little cloud caught from the sky. 

At first she doesn’t seem to notice him ; she keeps playing. She has long, straight brown hair left free around her face, just as pale as the other girls they’ve met so far. But she seems younger, softer than them somehow, and Eliott wonders if it’s just the moonlight that makes her look so translucent or if she would lack any color in daylight too. She has a slightly sullen air on her face, as if she has been sitting there for a long time and is getting bored of it. 

The air she plays is so soft it sounds like her fingers are barely touching the keys ; like an echo lost in a gust of wind. But there is longing there too, or more precisely, an attempt to remember what longing felt like. 

Then she raises her head, and stops. Stares at Eliott, transfixed. 

Eliott realises he’s being rude. 

“I’m sorry, he whispers. I didn’t mean to intrude. But it was beautiful.” 

She smiles at him, then, her eyes crinkling at the corners. It’s arresting, like an old photography caught out of composure. 

“It’s okay” She whispers back. “I get bored playing on my own.” 

“You mind if I…” he gestures at the little nook seat under one of the windows. She shakes her head, and resumes playing as Eliott sits. The same air, over and over again. 

His thoughts, inevitably, circle back to Lucas. Playing the piano, he sounded so different, the first time he’d played for Eliott. So alive and expressive, the night, the air between them heavy with potential and awe. That was the night he’d thought he’d found his soulmate. 

But then life happened - Lucas’s family tearing itself apart, Eliott sinking into an episode and almost flunking out of school, and they’d clung to each other like a raft in a storm. Needing the support of unconditional friendship more than the uncertainty of romance. And Lucas hadn’t played for him again. 

He realises the music has stopped. She is looking at him. 

“Well now you’re even making _ me _ sad. And I’m the one playing piano all by myself in the middle of the night, so…” Her big round eyes are liquid mirrors, eerie and bottomless, but her voice is that of a confidante. 

“Have you ever…" The words scramble through Eliott's throat like a flock of frantic birds trying to escape. "Have you ever gotten something you've wanted all your life, only to realize it might not be worth it if makes you lose the one thing...person..you always took for granted ? But now you're realizing you can't live without ? And you don't know how to...balance the two because...one seemed so out of reach and the other as if...we were meant to spend our lives together and he - I mean, the person, I..." His voice is raw, shaky with the effort of speaking out loud the thing that has been eating at him for weeks without any respite. 

She presses her lips together, her eyes compassionate but hazy, lost in the distance.

"No, she answers. In my life I had everything without ever needing to want it, and then there was one thing I wanted and wasn't allowed to have, and everything else didn't matter anymore. But," she frowns, "I guess that's why I am stuck here now, and I can't remember how this song ends. I loved something, but I didn't care to live for it. I let myself be defined by it entirely, and when it was gone...so was I."

Eliott looks at her, and blinks, her words sinking into him like stones in water, essential but difficult to process. He must be so tired she is starting to look blurry at the edges. He remembers why he came here in the first place. 

"Is it okay if I open the window to smoke ?"

She shrugs. "Sure. Nobody else but me ever comes here anyway."

He wrestles the window open, the old pane squeaking as he finally gets it loose. The smell of the night rolls into the room - rain, mud, decomposing leaves. It's not raining anymore, but the trees around are swaying wildly, trying to bear the violent force of the wind. 

He rolls and then lights the cigarette, the practiced motions not as much comfort as he thought it would be. 

She is fiddling with the keys again, more agitated, almost erratic, little variations, errors slipping into the melody like a scrambled radio wave. Or maybe not errors...just change. 

Eliott thinks and thinks and thinks. He's made this all very black and white in his head, hasn't he ? Either/or. Tunnel vision. First his hopes for the future, then his fear of losing Lucas, all consuming. Like a set track, an iron rail his mind can't seem to break free of. But that's a dangerous way to love. 

The girl stops, again, and slams a hand against the piano. 

"Hey, he says to the girl. Maybe you can just...I don't know, make up the end of the song yourself ? I mean...it doesn't matter if you get it right as long as it makes you happy. And you sound like you've got a good ear." 

The girl looks up and stares at him. 

"I don't think I can. " Suddenly the words rush out of her, too fast, full of frustration. "I've been trying to...play something else, anything else. It gets boring, this one, so sad and...But I don't remember anything else, and it's been stuck in my head, and I feel that as long as I don't finish it I won't be able to play anything else. But maybe you do. You're still free. You can still play your own song. You don't have to wait for anyone else to tell you." Her tone is imploring suddenly. 

He is about to ask what she means by that, when a strong gush of wind blasts into the room, and blows the smoke from Eliott's cigarette, from the hand hanging outside, back into the room.

The smoke dissolves and reforms, spectral curls pushing towards the girl. He is about to apologize for the smell when he sees it, in a ray of moonlight. 

It passes  _ through _ her. 

He sees the girl's eyes widen, and sees the exact emotion he feels on her face. 

Then there is a commotion outside the room. His friends' voices, loud but unintelligible. He jolts up, ready to rush towards them - but then he turns his head back to the piano and…

The girl is gone. Without a trace. 

* * *

DIMANCHE 00:25 - LUCAS 

"Gone ? What do you mean gone ?" 

"He went to the toilet like, an hour ago. I don't think that's normal, do you ?" 

"I mean it's Basile, who knows what he's doing in the toilet." Yann shrugs.

"Gross." 

"Well, Eliott is gone too, and I don't…" Lucas starts, worry like a weight on his chest. "Wait, but don't you guys have a toilet in your bathroom too ? Why would he..."

The door swings open, and Eliott walks into the room. Lucas has to restrain himself from throwing himself at him. His face is pale and his voice is shaking as he goes,

"Guys, I think I just talked to a ghost." 

Arthur and Yann explode into conjecture. Lucas keeps silent, and strides towards Eliott, puts a hand on his arm in a tentative gesture of comfort. Eliott leans into it, but just a little, like he isn't sure he should accept it. 

"What happened ?"

"I couldn't sleep. So I got out and I heard piano, and I found this girl playing. So I sat down next to her and I listened and then we talked about...things. But then I saw…" He takes a deep breath. "The smoke of my cigarette went right through her. As if she wasn't even there. And then you guys made noise and I got distracted and...I turned my head around and she was just. Gone." 

"Eliott, my man, you know I respect you, but ummm…was it possible you were like. Sleepwalking ? Or maybe it was an optical illusion ? Or she played a prank on you." Arthur says. 

Eliott shrugs. 

Lucas frowns. He's just as much of a scientist as Arthur, but he doesn't like dismissing Eliott's perceptions. 

Yann, he of the imperturbable chill, laughs. "Well I knew smoking was bad for you." 

Eliott smiles at him. "You say that now, huh." 

"Guys… I don't think we should leave Basile out there alone. " Arthur says. 

"Awww…are you afraid your buddy is gonna walk into a ghost ?" Yann teases him.

"No, I'm afraid he is going to make a fool of himself." Arthur huffs. 

"Yeah" Yann considers and nods."That's more likely. So should we like...split up ? Me and Arthur, Eliott and Lucas ?" 

"That sounds horror movie stupid." Eliott says. He's pretending to be calm, Lucas can see, but he is still very shaken.

"Hey, don't worry, if we are in a horror movie, I'm probably gonna be the first to die." Yann laughs. "Unless you two have sex. Or already had." He widens his eyes. "Is that why you went to bed early ?" 

Eliott blushes and splutters, "What ? That's not...we wouldn't…I never...we're...but..." before he realises he's better off keeping his mouth shut. Lucas doesn't know if he wants to throw a shoe at Yann's head or kiss him because let's be honest. None of Lucas's other friends would blush like that at the idea of sleeping with him. They would just joke it off. 

It makes Lucas feel strangely bold. 

"Well that's none of your business now, is it." Lucas cuts in, smirking. "But if we had I'm pretty sure you would have heard." 

He sees Eliott's eyes go wide with surprise. 

"Oooh damn, alright, Mister." Yann laughs."Well keep it in your pants until we get out of there, okay ?" 

"No, by all means, get murdered." Arthur says. "I'm not sure I wanna be around whatever's happening here in my parents' cabin." 

"Man, don't be such a priss." Yann goes. "Okay, we'll check downstairs, you go up, ok ?" 

And then they're gone. 

Lucas is left with Eliott alone. To wonder if Yann is just randomly teasing, or if they're so obvious. He's not making jokes about Arthur and Bas sleeping together, isn't he ? 

"He probably got lost on his way to the kitchen. Isn't it a bit rude to go upstairs ? I mean, we haven't been invited…" Lucas starts. He doesn't want Eliott to feel pushed into doing something he's not comfortable with. 

"No." Eliott answers. His face is shaken, but determined. "I need to know...if I saw something or if I just...I mean that girl. She was just there, and I opened up to her, and I…"

"To her but not to your best friend, huh ?" Lucas can't help himself. He knows he sounds bitter right then, but god. 

"It's easier sometimes. When you don't care about the reaction." Eliott bites his lip, then looks upwards. "So, um...shall we go ?"

"Lead the way." Lucas answers. Of course. He would follow Eliott anywhere, after all. 

Even if this house is really creepy. 

  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more secrets of the guest house are revealed...Lucas and Eliott stick close together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well nope this isn't the end yet, because this thing keeps growing but I'm just going to keep writing until it ends somewhere, lmao. 
> 
> Call this a Halloween hangover. 
> 
> content : descriptions of blood and unattached body parts (not graphic), a bit scary

DIMANCHE 00:31 - ELIOTT

They stick closely together as they climb up the stairs, which creak noisily under their feet as they go. Eliott flinches every time. Ever since he saw the ghost girl vanish, he is extremely on edge. He keeps wracking his brain - but he saw her, he is absolutely certain. He saw the smoke go right through her. It’s not a dream. 

At the very least it’s some sort of carefully set up optical illusion, a prank played on unsuspecting guests, since Halloween is so close. But it’s not _ nothing. _

He’s always considered himself an agnostic when it came to the supernatural. Like, he doesn’t really believe in anything specific, but he doesn’t _ not _ believe either. He just always figured it was better for him to stay away from these types of things. He knows it’s different for Lucas, though : he is a staunch skeptic and atheist. Which is why he really appreciates that Lucas didn’t dismiss him outright when he talked about a ghost. 

He knows it sounds crazy, but well...what’s the alternative ? 

They arrive at the floor above them. It’s pretty much similar to the one below : closed wooden doors, paintings on the wall, carpeted floors. 

“Basile !” Lucas calls, trying to keep it to a whisper while making himself as audible as possible. 

Nothing. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Eliott sees something move. He turns around : nothing again.

“Eliott ?”

“It’s nothing, I thought I saw...just a shadow, I guess.” He feels his throat dry. Looks down at his feet - the carpet is dusty, disturbed by his feet, as if nobody ever walks here. 

“Wow, can you imagine how annoying it must be to clean this place ?” Lucas’s tone is light, a little bit forced, as if he’s trying to relax the atmosphere. 

“Yeah.” Eliott smiles at him. 

“I don’t get people who need huge houses Just give me an apartment or something. Easy to clean, nice view, no hassle.”

“Yeah, I mean, especially when you’re like, two people and you don’t need like fifty bedrooms...and we can have a nice balcony to have breakfast on and...” Eliott trails off as he realises what he just said. He was picturing them living together. He coughs. “Or I mean, more…” 

The truth is, he misses that brief period of time where they lived together during high school. They both live in uni dorm rooms in different parts of the city now ; they are constantly together, but it just isn’t the same. The idea of living together again, it would mean something totally different now, and still Eliott can picture it. Their little nest, an intimate place where this longing could unfold naturally, without the cold eye of the world...the time to figure things out for real…

  
They could have had it, if Eliott had been less of a coward. 

Lucas turns around and looks at him. His eyes are glimmering in the faint glow of the corridor, dark, full of an emotion Eliott can’t name. 

Suddenly this - thing - between them swells and takes the place of everything else - the fear, the stress he’s been stewing in those last few weeks, the unsettling nature of their current situation. 

Eliott takes in Lucas’s smooth, golden skin, his features schooled into fierce determination that soften as he looks up into Eliott’s eyes, the curve of his lips...Even familiar, he is still the most beautiful person Eliott has ever seen, and Eliott has grown spoiled, really, he almost forgot how breathless his best friend can make him if he lets it happen. Suddenly he wonders, what the hell has he been doing ? Are his fears really that important and powerful that he can let them drift apart like they have been ? 

Eliott notices they have gotten closer, much closer, when - 

A loud, thumping noise cuts through the silence, interrupting his thoughts and making them both jump. 

“What the fuck.” Lucas whispers. He looks around them, clearly nervous. “Where the fuck did that come from ?”

“I don’t know.” Eliott answers. “I think we should keep going, so...we make sure Basile isn’t upstairs and then find the others.”

“Yeah, okay.” Lucas answers, taking a deep breath, visibly trying to calm himself down. “I mean Yann was probably right he probably went to the kitchen or something. Upstairs has to be a bunch of old folk sleeping.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” It must have been a trick of the light with the girl, Eliott tries to reassure himself. He tries to emulate Lucas’s calm. 

They move on. 

However, the next floor isn’t lit. So they have to use their phone flashlights - immediately lending a much creepier aspect to their surroundings, casting everything in distorted shadows and a much bleaker light. 

There is no sign of Basile - or any other lifeform - on this one, or the next one. They stay close, closer than they would have walked otherwise. 

As they are climbing the stairs again, Eliott starts hearing, between the sounds of their steps, faint and faraway, the sound of piano being played. 

He freezes. 

“Fuck, can you hear that ?”

“No, what ?” 

It’s the same melody again, but this time, as if played in a hurry, less delicate and more insistant, fingers smashed into piano keys.

“It’s the ghost girl again,” Eliott says.

He needs to know if it was real or not. He turns around immediately and moves to go back down the stairs, towards the piano and the salon. He needs to know what is happening, needs to know he isn’t crazy -

  
Lucas catches him by the hand. 

“Wait.” 

The warmth of Lucas’s fingers around his is enough to bring him to a halt. 

“I...maybe we should just check the last floor quickly. So it's done, and then we can go back to the others, ok ? Or to the piano or wherever you want. I mean...I don't really wanna come back here twice."

Eliott pushes away the idea of telling Lucas to stay there while he goes to check : no way in hell. Besides...even if she is real he doubts ghost girl has kidnapped Basile, and his need for answers will have to go second after the safety of his friend.

"Okay." He says. Lucas doesn't let go of his hand, however. It's not a very romantic hand holding, no interlaced fingers, more like a way to pull Eliott along and make sure he doesn't drift away again. But it gives him strength as they make their way into the dark. 

God, his emotions are all over the place. He doesn’t know if the adrenaline pumping through his veins is fear or ...Something else. Or everything at once. 

They push on, into the dark. 

As they arrive to the last floor, and a gush of gold wind blows into their faces, however, he immediately notices something is very, very wrong. It looks exactly similar to the previous floors - but it isn't. 

First, the temperature has dropped brutally. And then the smell - ash, rain, rot, something burning.

By reflex, Eliott brings his free hand to his nose to protect himself from the smell. Then he bumps into Lucas, who stopped moving and is standing very still , tightening his grip on Eliott’s hand. 

He can see Lucas's misty breath hang in the air.

  


"Eliott ?" He says, his voice unnaturally high. "How many floors does this house have ?"

  


Eliott frowns, closes his eyes. 

He pictures the house in his head from when they arrived. Ground floor, and then three others including what looked like an attic in the roof. “Three, why ?”

“How many stairs have we climbed ?” 

Oh fuck. 

“Four.” Eliott whispers. “We climbed four stairs.” 

What the fuck ? 

Lucas moves back slightly, moving even closer to Eliott, until Eliott can feel the warmth radiating off his body. 

  


“We need to go back, right now.” 

They’re about to turn around when they hear another noise. 

Laughter - coming from the end of the corridor. 

One laughing is a woman, a girlish chuckle that seems to echo through the place. And the other is a guy, a goofy laugh they both must have heard a thousand times…

Basile. 

* * *

  


DIMANCHE 0:42 - LUCAS

As soon as he hears his friend, Lucas doesn’t hesitate one second : he rushes forward, Eliott following behind him. His heart is hammering in his throat, but he ignores it. 

They arrive at the last door, from where the sound is coming. He hears more laughter, and the sound of a conversation he can’t understand, hushed tones and little giggles. 

As they arrive he throws a glance back to Eliott. He looks spooked, but determined. 

He tries to turn the doorknob, but as it turns a few degrees, it stays stuck - not like it’s locked but rather rusted shut. The metal is strangely corroded, humid, and cold to the touch. 

He wraps his hand in his sleeve and tries again, and again, but to no avail, until Eliott wraps his hand around Lucas’s and helps him push, and finally, under their combined efforts, the door flies open. 

  


The scene that greets them is….

He hears Eliott’s soft gasp behind him. 

The room in which they have stepped is completely burned from the inside out. In the back, a part of the roof is gone, only crumbled blackened beams remaining, rain falling down on the floorboards. Cold air rushes into their faces. 

All around the room, lit candles project eerie dancing lights and shadows on the ravaged walls, flickering in the wind yet all staying resolutely burning. 

In front of them, there is a little table, with a teapot and porcelain cups. Around the table, sitting, is Daphné, and on the other side, with a woozy look on his face, his eyes never turning away from Daphné even one second, is Basile. 

“Basile !” Lucas yells at his friend. “What the fuck, what are you doing here, man ?”

Basile doesn’t turn his head, or even acknowledge their entrance in any way. It’s as if he is hypnotized. He has a soft smile on his face and looks completely high. He brings the cup in his hand, to his lips, and Lucas notices the cup is empty. 

What the hell is going on there ?

Daphné smiles at them, and gets up. She’s changed her clothes : from her more simple get up, she is now in full dress, something dramatic and out of a period movie with a wide, poofy skirt and lace spilling from her cleavage, red sash around her waist like a slash of blood. Her hair is let loose, golden curls flying freely around her face. Beautiful, but unhinged. 

“Basile, hello ?” Lucas tries again. He’s always known that his friend could become lovestruck quickly, but this is on a whole other level. 

“Basile, sweetheart, why don’t you pour out some tea for your friends ?” 

As if brought to life by her voice, Basile gets up, takes the teapot and gestures to pour out tea in the different cups on the table - but there is nothing that comes out. It doesn’t seem to disturb Basile, who keeps going, his eyes lost in space, a dopey grin on his face. 

Yeah, no, that’s fucked up.

Daphné smiles at them, and Lucas notices how sharp her teeth are, all of a sudden, and how pale her skin. 

“Why don’t you come and sit with us ?”

She moves closer, and behind Lucas, so does Eliott, who steps forward, as if he wanted to protect Lucas. 

Her eyes, round and blue and uncanny, clamp on to Lucas’s. 

“You want to join us, don’t you ?” There is something very weird about her voice, all of a sudden, as if it’s vibrating. “I know you want to, deep in your heart. You want to come and sit and talk with us, and stay there, forever and ever.”

“No I don’t, what the fuck.” Lucas blurts out. Whatever weird hypnotizing mind trick she has worked on Basile, he’d be damned if he’s going to fall for it. 

Daphné frowns, her smile faltering for a minute - before she turns her gaze to Eliott. 

“What about you ?” Her voice sounds like velvet, but it has a metallic, dangerous undertone. “You look like the kind of guy who knows how to have fun, unlike your grumpy friend.” 

Eliott stumbles forward. 

Lucas feels a flash of despair, and grabs his hand again, much more vigorously this time. 

“Eliott.” He says. Eliott stops. Lucas flashes a petty smile at Daphné. 

She advances on them, the smile on her face suddenly scary. 

“Come here.” She says, her voice suddenly imperious. But neither of them move. 

She moves even closer, until she is standing in front of Eliott. Lucas wants to step in, get in between the two of them. 

She squints and looks at Eliott. 

“Oh I see, you’re in _love_, aren’t you ?” She sounds disgusted at the concept.

Lucas looks at his best friend’s face. He’s blushing, his mouth slightly ajar.

“My powers don’t work on people who are in love.” Daphné says, rolling her eyes, as if she was just explaining the weather. 

Powers ? What the fuck, Lucas thinks, which has pretty much been the background track of his brain ever since they got here. 

“What are you like...a vampire ? A witch ?” 

  
“That’s none of your business.” She replies tersely. 

Then it hits him. She says Eliott is in love. In love. He hasn’t denied and - for an instant Lucas’s hopes soar as high as the sky. 

  
Before falling to the ground and crashing pathetically. If it was Lucas he was in love with, why would he distance himself ? Why not have told him before ? No, it has to be one of his fears. That he’s fallen for someone else. And he knows about Lucas’s feelings, which is why it’s taken him so long to tell him. 

Fuck. He feels like a crumbled piece of soggy bread all of a sudden. 

Daphné’s eyes come back to him. “Meanwhile, you...what’s your deal, then ? You’re even less…”

“i’m gay.” Lucas cuts through. “I don’t like women, especially not when they try to brainwash my friends. Now can you please let him go ?”

Daphné’s face turns dark all of a sudden. 

“No. We are having a party and you are not invited.” 

She snaps her fingers, and everything goes black.

  


* * *

  
  


DIMANCHE 1:36 - ELIOTT

  


Eliott opens his eyes, and finds himself staring at a painted ceiling. 

He feels strange, tired but not, the world glowy and hazy at the edges. Something is nagging at the edge of his consciousness, playing hide and seek with his conscious mind. 

He turns. Lucas lies next to him, sleeping, face glowing in the moonlight. Eliott's breath catches in his throat. He is so beautiful. Like an angel. He could spend hours just looking at him. It makes him so deeply, deliriously happy.

He rolls a little closer. He feels warm and content, but woozy, as if he's had a bit too much to drink. The only thing that could make this better is if he was closer to Lucas, so he moves until he is. He curls one leg around Lucas's, and one arm around his torso, and nuzzles into Lucas's neck. He smells so good too ; like safety, and home. Eliott wishes he could stay there forever, listening to the heartbeat of the boy of his dreams. His best friend, his Lucas.

Everything is so warm, and good. Yeah. 

This is it, the good shit. 

"Eliott ? What the...what are you doing ?" 

Lucas is awake all of a sudden and he pulls himself free, pushing Eliott off, who lets out a protest. Without Lucas he feels cold, uneasy, wrong. 

"Baby…" he whimpers. He clings back to Lucas's back, like an oversized koala. 

"Fuck...Basile...that girl...Eliott !" Lucas shakes himself free and turns around to face Eliott and grabs his chin.

"Are you feeling okay ?"

"I just want a hug." Eliott sighs. 

"Do you remember where we just were ?" His voice is too sharp. Eliott feels like there is something he should be aware of, buzzing in the back of his brain but he doesn't want to acknowledge it. He just wants to be close to Lucas. He dips his head forward, until it's resting on Lucas's shoulder. 

"Eliott ?"

"Let's worry about it tomorrow okay ?" Eliott says in his best approximation of serious voice. "Let's just go back to bed." He shuffles closer, pressing himself against Lucas until he is close enough to wrap his arms around him.

"Oh my god," Lucas whispers. "She did something to you." 

"M'fine." Eliott mumbles. 

"No, you're…" 

Suddenly Lucas is gone, and Eliott lets out a noise of despair. 

No, he's not gone - he's standing up, moving away. 

"I'm going to go get Basile. Remember, our friend ?" 

Why is his Lucas so cold all of a sudden ? He's never cold with him. He's funny and caring and sometimes he blushes so prettily when Eliott stares at him for a bit too long. 

"You're my friend." Eliott says. "Please don't leave me." 

Lucas sighs. "I'm not leaving you. You're just going to have to come with me, okay ?" He stretches a hand out towards Eliott.

Eliott would rather they stay in bed. But as long as he is with Lucas it doesn't really matter. So he grabs Lucas's hand and pulls himself up, his head swimming as he does.

"Easy, okay." Lucas whispers as Eliott stumbles as he gets up and catches on to Lucas's shoulder. For some reason, walking is difficult and demands an effort.

They make it out of the room and into the corridor, then down the stairs. Eliott is cold, and he clings to Lucas to stay warm. The cold is sobering, makes the worries niggling at his brain more difficult to ignore.

They arrive to the main entrance. The lights are out but there are shadows everywhere, swirling around the walls. It's very strange. Eliott blinks.

"That doesn't look normal."

"You think ?" There is an edge to Lucas's voice. Eliott hopes Lucas isn't angry with him. He curls an arm around his shoulders and hides his face in Lucas's hair. It's so soft. He wonders why he hasn't been doing this everyday. He feels like it's important to express this. "You're soft. So soft." He whispers into the silky strands of hair. 

Lucas sighs loudly, gets free and grabs Eliott by the arm.

"Okay, dude, we are going to find the others. And then we'll get you all the cuddles you want, okay ?"

Eliott's brain has trouble understanding.

"I don't want the others' cuddles. Just you."

"Okay, just me, you got it." 

Lucas is so kind and understanding, Eliott marvels as he is drawn forward. There is nowhere he wouldn't follow him. 

* * *

DIMANCHE 1:54 - LUCAS 

This is so fucked up, Lucas thinks. 

That creepy girl did something to Eliott and now he's treating Lucas like his personal teddy bear and he has the reasoning capacity of a drunk chimpanzee. 

He's pretty sure Eliott would be mortified if he knew what he was doing. So he tries to keep it to a minimum, even though it feels very hard and unfair to push Eliott away when he is nuzzling at his temple with the tip of his nose and crooning nonsense into Lucas's ear and whining when he tries to walk further.

But he has to be doing this because Lucas is close by, right ? Since he's in love with someone else. 

It's effing torture. Eliott getting that kind of affectionate with him has always been one of his most private dreams, but now it finally happens it's because of some weird spell or something.

Fuck his life, seriously. This is _not_ what he meant by "quality bonding time". 

Finally, finally, they make to the kitchen, and the salon where Manon sat. It's all empty, fire extinguished, nobody in sight, just those weird moving shadows on the wall. 

Where to next ? They haven't been to the rest of the house, but they don't have much choice. They're halfway through a corridor with one wall almost entirely windows on a dark, lush garden, when suddenly, another massive thumping sound resonates in the air. This one is much, much louder, so much that it rattles the glass. And makes Eliott jump into his arms, almost if he wanted to hide in there. Which is slightly complicated since Lucas is at least s head smaller than him.

He strokes Eliott's arm.

"It's going to be okay, alright ? It's just a big noise." He says, in the most reassuring tone he can muster. 

  


THUMP 

  


This time it seems even the walls are shaking. It might just be a big noise but it is terrifying. 

  


THUMP 

  


Eliott whimpers and curls in against him.

  


THUMP

  


Lucas has a distinct feeling that the sound is coming from below them. Even the ground is fucking shaking. 

  


THUMP

Are those running noises ? 

  


THUMP

THUMP

THUMP

THUMP

  


The door at the end of the corridor bursts open and Yann and Arthur run through it, a look of panic on their faces. 

  


"Holy fuck thank god you're there !" Yann almost shouts at them. 

"There is something really really wrong with this place." Arthur says. "We need to find Basile and leave as soon as possible." 

He lifts something. It's a translucid, medical grade plastic bag that contains a rest of deep, dark red liquid…

"Fucking hell...is that blood ?" 

"We found it in the kitchen," Arthur says, his face grim. 

It starts to dawn on Lucas, how fucked they truly are. Sure, the scene upstairs might have been dismissed as Basile being weird...but when you add up Eliott's ghost, and them waking up in their beds suddenly after having gone to the top of the house, and the weird extra floor, and the thumping that won't stop...and now this…

"What's wrong with him ?" Yann asks, pointing at Eliott, who is currently trying to hide under Lucas's chin, his hair tickling Lucas's nose. 

Lucas coughs and tries to come up with a rational explanation before he realizes there isn't any.

"It's Daphne. We saw her upstairs. She's got Basile under some sort of weird hypnosis, and she did something to Eliott, too. Then she zapped us back to our beds. LIke," and he imitates her snapping her fingers.

"Fuck, well at least we know he's alive...So we should go back up there, right ?" 

"I don't know...we got there by climbing one more floor than the house actually has, it was super freaky, cold and smelled bad and half the room they were in was burned...we didn't see any burns on the house from the outside right." 

"Wow...that's really freaky."

"I think...maybe we should get some sort of a weapon."

"Like what ? Wooden stakes ?" Arthur scoffs.

"Yeah actually bro, that might not be such a bad idea. I mean...we have to actually acknowledge something is going on right ? Like we're not going to be like these morons that say "ooh it's nothing" and get killed right away, right ?" Yann says. 

"Lucas can't get killed," Eliott whispers in horror.

Lucas doesn't know if he wants to laugh, cry or lose it. Maybe all three. But instead he takes a deep breath. 

"Okay, let's go to the kitchen and see what we can find." 

  


They retrace Yann and Arthur's steps to find themselves in a huge kitchen, with industrial equipment and white tiles everywhere. 

The cupboards are almost all empty of food. But in the back of the room, two fridges reveal themselves to be full of bags of blood. So much blood - couldn't have come from one body only.

This is complete insanity, Lucas thinks.

In the freezer, Arthur finds a human hand. To his credit, he doesn't even scream, just looks at them with the palest face he's ever had. 

They really, really need to find Basile. 

They end up with a hodgepodge of things pop culture has told them could be of help in supernatural situations - a broom broken in two to make sharp stakes, some salt, a wreath of garlic, an iron poker, and on the chance that they're dealing with human psychopaths, a kitchen knife, a rolling pin and a pan.

Eliott protests loudly as they work the garlic wreath around his neck, saying that it stinks, but there is no way in hell he is getting a knife in his current state. Lucas isn't even sure he's noticed the blood or the hand - he still seems high as a kite, on his own little cloud. 

They painstakingly make their way back up - but when they arrive on the landing of the third floor ? 

There are no more stairs. 

They make their way back to their rooms in a daze, unsure as to what to do. Their phones have no battery either. 

Lucas is about to suggest one of them take the car and go get help when Arthur interrupts his train of thought.

"Look, out there !" 

He's pointing at something outside, through the window. They all get closer to see.

There, in the dark, there is a light, coming from what looks like a little ...shack, or greenhouse, a hundred meters or so. 

"Maybe there's someone else there that we can ask for help." Yann 

"Yeah or maybe they're going to murder us even faster." Lucas says. "Maybe one of us should get the car and…"

"No," Yann says, "we stay together. If one of us goes to the car alone he'd be much easier to pick off. From now on, we don't split up anymore, okay ?"

Lucas nods, secretly relieved.

Eliott, still hanging on to Lucas is if he were a sloth and Lucas was the branch, hums softly. Lucas can't help but tighten the arm he's slung around him.

He has to believe this ; as long as they stick together they'll be fine. 

* * *

  


DIMANCHE 02:43 - ELIOTT 

  


Eliott can tell something is wrong. But his mind is all inside out. Even finding words to talk is difficult. 

He just wants to be close to Lucas. He can feel Lucas is agitated, maybe scared even, so he hugs him close and tries to whisper reassuring words to him. The words come out a mess, but he keeps trying.

Then they go outside, into the dark. Lucas helped him put on his coat over his pajamas so it's fine, he isn't even cold. 

They stay close as they walk up to a little house in the woods, and knock on the door. 

The woman who opens, Eliott knows immediately, is a witch. She has wild purple hair, and is wearing a long black dress with a cape. She looks awesome, her heart-shaped face all friendly and smiling. They follow her into the inside of the house. The air is warm, humid, sweet. There are plants everywhere, on the ground, hanging from the glass walls and the ceiling. Some of them are flowering, in big splashes of color or little white dots. It smells wonderful, like honey and grass and vanilla blended together. Little lights are hanging in between them everywhere and Eliott can't tell if they're fairy lights or fireflies. Although he's never heard of pink fireflies, to be honest. 

He tries to ask Lucas if he thinks pink fireflies exist but Lucas doesn't answer, just pulls him along. 

It's so romantic, Eliott thinks. He wishes Lucas didn't walk so fast, so they could look at the fireflies together. They would look so pretty floating around Lucas's face, and if he can find a flower to put behind his ear…

They arrive into a bigger room and Eliott lets out a "Whoa!" of admiration.

This is the heart of the greenhouse, with some plants as tall as trees, crisscrossing vines everywhere and in the middle, a little pond covered in blooming water lilies in shades of white and blue. Eliott gets closer to the water. Below, he can see little fish - and they are shining, like little drops of starlight. Their light illuminates the whole pond, and the flowers from below, making it look like they are enchanted. 

The closer he gets and suddenly he starts seeing images. Blurry at first, and then sharper. The fish are getting more agitated, swimming in spirals fast, as if waving a net in the water, and the net makes a picture. Blue eyes, very familiar, and an inquisitive nose, and a mop of wild hair, and…

"Eliott, what are you doing ?" Suddenly Lucas is there again, his arms around Eliott's waist, pulling him back from how close to the water he's gotten. He relents immediately : the real thing is much more appealing. 

They follow the witch to what looks like a big, bubbling cauldron. She is filling a series of jars on the ground with the content of the cauldron, using a very tall and thin copper ladle. The liquid looks a lot like slime, deep green with purple shimmer. It's very weird. 

The guys are talking to the witch. Eliott can't help but look at the bubbles inside the cauldron, swirling, mesmerized with the glittering swirls inside. He starts seeing shapes in there, first a bird, then a heart…

All of a sudden, Lucas is giving him something to drink in a little earthenware cup. He's asking Eliott to drink it but Eliott shakes his head : it smells disgusting. 

"Do you trust me ?" Lucas asks. The lights reflected in his eyes look like little dancing stars. 

Of course Eliott trusts him. He loves Lucas. He's beautiful and smart and caring and kind and funny. If he didn't exist, the world would really suck. Like Christmas without presents or a night sky without the moon or a blank page without colors or…

"Then please drink, I promise it won't be that bad." 

Eliott drinks. He throws it back in three big gulps.

It really is that bad : bitter, acid, and it burns on his tongue and down his throat. He feels a fleeting sensation of betrayal. 

In fact, all sorts of uncomfortable sensations are returning to his body bit by bit, as if breaking through the hazy, warm filter he's been viewing the world through. 

His shoes and feet are wet and cold. The smell of the greenhouse is less sweet and more overpowering, too ripe like rotten fruit. Instead of romantic, this place is definitely creepy, with the strange overly lush plants and the rusty utensils and oh my god, is that flower in the back actually moving ? 

What the fuck ? He turns his head to see the witch staring at him. Her eyes are piercing, inquisitive. She doesn't look friendly. 

Then he realises he's still plastered to Lucas, and promptly separates himself from him, harassment flushing his body all the way to his cheeks, that are probably flaming red right now. 

All the previous events of the night come back to him. The ghost girl. Creepy extra floor. Daphne. Basile. Hanging onto Lucas like a drunk starfish with no concept of personal space. 

  


"Holy fucking shit."

  


"Yeah bro, that's accurate." Yann laughs.

  


"Welcome back from the land of the love zombies." Arthur says.

The love zombies...what ?

"It's Daphne," Lucas says, apologetic. "She hypnotized you." He is very much avoiding Eliott's eyes. 

Eliott swallows, ashamed of his behavior. 

"I'm sorry. I hope I didn't do anything inappropriate."

"It's fine," Lucas answers, still very much not looking at him. His entire body language days he wants to be as far from Eliott as possible. Eliott's heart hurts. 

"Really, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. It's just...I feel safe around you, I guess." And a lot more than that, but that's besides the point.

"Wasn't your fault." Lucas mumbles. 

"Well this is all very adorable," the witch cuts in, but I have work to do. "You have chosen the worst possible time to drop by."

"Our other friend is still missing," Lucas bites back. "So you'll excuse me if I am, maybe, asking if the fucking gardening can wait a little."

Immediately, the lights around them start flickering, the plants swaying, agitated.

"I would use a more respectful tone, if I were you," the witch says. 

"Sorry, my friend here is being rude." Arthur says, ever the gentleman. "We are just...very confused as to what is happening in this house."

The witch sighs. She is still filling jars, and she looks very put upon. "I told Manon we shouldn't accept guests tonight. But Daphne was so insistent, and she never knows how to tell her no."

"What's happening tonight, then ?"

"Potentially something very bad, unless I can help it." 

"Can _we_ help ?" Eliott asks. He hasn't completely understood the situation, but he knows that extending help is always a good first step.

The witch raises her eyebrows. On the cupboard behind her, a big fluffy black cat is staring at them with golden eyes. 

"I don't know...do you have a lot of experience in stopping the end of the world ?" She slaps a lid on the first jar. Eliott, still attuned to him after the spell has worn off, hears Lucas's sharp intake of breath. 

"Because we are having some demon related issues in our basement at the moment and well...we can't exactly call the plumber on that one, now can we ?"

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They are so oblivious oh my god
> 
> Writing Eliott's Ghibli for lovestruck dumbasses adventure while at the same time everyone is in horror movie mode freaking out because of the FUCKING HAND in the freezer...very funny 
> 
> Up next ....soon...the end mwhahaha


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> as the night goes on, the plot takes a turn for the bonkers, old secrets are revealed, the ladies are feral, the gays stay winning, all the found family big feelings, and it's once again about the h a n d s 
> 
> nothing as romantic as the end of the world <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's still Halloween as long as it's Halloween in our hearts, guys ^^ 
> 
> i hope you like this ending ! I had so much fun writing it. Is it realistic or well planned out ? No. But do I care ? Also no. This is Scooby Doo meets Buffy meets Charmed meets a little bit of IT (for the bonding not the scary clows...although...) written in a hurry and thrown out of the plane to fly on its own and i love it
> 
> i mean this is the first fic i ever finished i am emo - may it be the first of many 
> 
> content warning : some gore and blood (this is why i changed the rating to mature but it isn't very bad tbh and doesn't happen to any of our main characters), supernatural stuff (duh), a frankly annoying amount of obliviousness and pining like come on get your shit together guys

DIMANCHE 03:10 - LUCAS

They watch the witch, who introduced herself as Alexia, as she fills a dozen clay jars and closes them with black lids, all the while muttering in some incomprehensible language and patting them in a very odd way. As if they were alive and she was encouraging them.

  
Lucas still can't believe it. That this is real. He wants to pinch himself to check if this isn't a dream. 

  
"The trick with these, is you have to do them at the last minute, but there is always something that can go wrong." She explains.

"And the process of brewing itself takes so long...and you never really know when you're going to need them exactly. It builds over days and then...this morning I woke up and I knew that we were going to have another tentative of breach. We live on a ...place where the veil between this world and the one below is, shall we say very thin. And predisposed to letting in all sorts of creeepy crawlies. It's...a lot of work to watch it. This one is going to be particularly nasty ; he's personally motivated."

They all watch, still in shock from what she has just revealed. Paranormal phenomenon in a weird spooky house, that's one thing. But...demons ? _The end of the world ?_ Half of what she says doesn't even make sense. Lucas is a biochem student, for fuck's sake, he trusts facts and hard science. But in this case, well...the evidence is tricky to deny and he has a feeling it's only going to get trickier.

  
Well, at least Eliott has gotten his wits back.

  
Lucas is trying very hard to ignore the fact that he misses having him plastered against him, all close and sleepy and affectionate. Not that Eliott isn't affectionate normally, but ...

  
Anyway, that's irrelevant right now.

  
End of the world and demons and all that shit. Or someone is playing the best prank of the universe on them and there are cameras hidden everywhere. In any case, he needs his wits about him. Don't want to look like a moron on Youtube, after all. Or, well. Contribute to the end of the world.

Alexia sighs, finally, as she is done, and then looks at them, a little puzzled as if she'd forgotten they were there. 

  
"Alright," she sighs, "I do appreciate some solid friendship. Tell you what, you help me get those jars in the house and I will try to help you get your friend back. Daphné isn't supposed to play around with guests anymore anyway."

  
Lucas feels a tremor of relief, but doesn't allow himself to relax his guard. They might have an ally, but they are nowhere near out of trouble, and this could all be a ruse.

  
Nevertheless, they let Alexia stack pots in their arms, two each, with a stern warning not to let them fall, otherwise they would be really, really sorry.

  
"Hey," Lucas can't help but ask Eliott, "Are you feeling okay ? You were pretty out of it earlier...We can carry those for you if…"

  
"I'm fine." Eliott snaps.

Lucas's heart crimps in on itself.

They leave the muggy air of the greenhouse to go back into the night. Outside, it's raining again and the intensity of it has them drenched in a matter of seconds. The jars feel slippery in Lucas's hands and he holds his breath in, trying to not let them fall while being mindful of where he puts his feet - the backyard is severely neglected and they are walking along a path in the middle of the high grass, brambles and rocks threatening to make them stumble at any moment.

  
He can see Eliott struggle in front of him but he doesn't say anything.

  
They finally arrive at the door that opens on the backyard, and Alexia guides them, trudging all dripping and muddy over the beautiful carpet, until they have reached the entrance hall again. It is lit only by flickering chandeliers along the walls, giving it the allure of a haunted mansion.

  
She then frees a massive iron key from her belt and uses it to open the big, rounded wooden door in the stone walls under the stairs on the side.

  
"It's happening down there, she tells them. If you help me get the jars to the basement…"

  
The entrance door to the house flies open. They all turn.

  
Manon, their hostess, is standing on the doorstep, her silhouette outlined by the lightning at her back. Her hair is flying wildly around her face, and as she steps in they can see that her face is dirty and full of scratches, as if she'd just gone trawling through the woods in a storm. Her dress is ripped, across her chest, belly and arms, in claw shaped holes, through which deep bloody gashes are visible. The severity of the injury should have her whimper in pain but her face is stoic, unreadable.

What stands out the most, though, is the hulking, furry mass she is carrying on her shoulders - something that should be way too heavy for a thin, almost frail looking woman like her.

But she grabs it and throws it down in the carpet as if it didn't weigh more than a feather.

  
As the thing's features are revealed, Lucas shivers in disgust and horror.

Its body could be that of an extremely large, black dog, or a wolf, or maybe a bear. But its face...this is the worst thing he has ever seen. Pointy, and covered in eyes, mouths and teeth everywhere. Like a drawing by some demented posessed toddler.

  
"He sent me a hellhound," Manon says matter of factly, to Alexia. "I could smell it circling us. It was meant to attack us during the ritual. But that is not going to happen now." Her tone is determined, businesslike, as if this is a normal occurence for her. 

Who's _he_ ? Lucas has no clue but he really doesn't want to meet anyone - any_thing_ capable to send anything like that monstrosity. 

  
Manon unsheathes a sharp silver dagger from her belt, crouches forward, and plunges it into the monster's chest. She slices through flesh and bone as if they were butter, and then thrusts her whole arm in the gash she made. She roots in there for a minute, her face completely impassible as if this is something she does everyday ; then she pulls her arm out, drenched in black, foul blood. In her heart, a fuming, dark heart, glowing a deep red from within, still pulsating like an ember.

  
"There. I'll give him that, to show him what I think of his attentions." She spits on the corpse of the beast. "Now, what the fuck are _they_ doing here ?"

  
Her gaze runs over the Gang, whom Lucas all sees flinch and stand up straighter. He does the exact thing. This Manon is...not someone they want to piss off. He is really starting to feel as if they dropped by right in the middle of something that was really, really not meant for their eyes. 

  
Alexia sighs. "They're looking for their friend. Daphné has him."

  
Manon swears. "Damn it. We don't have time to deal with this right now. We need to set up the protective ritual. He is due to break through any minute now, I can feel it."

  
Lucas wonders if this is the source of the thumping noise they heard a while ago. As if to confirm his fears, it makes itself heard again.

  
Alexia says "You know we need Daphy to do the ritual, Manny. You're too vulnerable around him otherwise, and I will be busy. You're stronger together."

"I know !" Manon responds, her bright eyes suddenly shining with all the emotion they didn't hold earlier. "But you know how she gets ! She is doing this to get back at me ! She's so...petty !"

Alexia sighs, long suffering. "What do I always tell you guys about communicating...anyway. Two of these guys met her earlier. They were immune to her charms. They could go get her, and their friend. Two birds and one stone."

Alexia waves towards Lucas and Eliott.

  
Manon turns her eyes towards them. "You are in love ? Is it strong enough ?" She is still weary of them, Lucas can tell, but first and foremost she is a fighter, who will use whatever ressources she has at her disposal. Lucas is...not sure how much of a good thing this is for them, but what choice do they have. 

  
Eliott stammers something, behind him. Lucas's bruised heart contracts pitifully.

"I can go. I only like men, I don't think her thing works on me. Eliott," He puts the jars down on the ground, carefully, not turning around. "You should stay here. You saw what she did to you."

  
He hears Eliott set the jars down as well, and step closer to him. "There is no way in hell I'm letting you go alone."

  
"Daphne's powers work on all mortals who like women." Manon says. "But if you are in love with someone else...all they do is bring to the surface the deepest desire in your heart. To be with the one you love, to cherish and protect them."

  
But….

  
Shadows dance wildly on the walls in a macabre carousel. Wind, rain and lightning flood the room through the open door, bringing the smells of the forest with them, charged with life and wild energy.

  
Lucas's heart rises into his mouth like the sun after an endless night.

  
The deepest desire...he thought Eliott was just drunk and clingy but he…

  
"The only question is…" Manon asks, looking at Eliott this time, past Lucas's shoulder, "Is your love strong enough to refuse the pull of oblivion ?"

  
"It is," Eliott replies. His voice is strong, sure. Like a romantic hero, dashing in the night.

  
Lucas is terrified of turning around and looking at him. His heart is hammering in his ribcage, pulse frantic, his anxieties scrambling at his brain. It can't be - why did he never -

  
Manon grabs yet another tool from her belt pouch. This one is a small silver whip, with an engraved handle.

  
"Give Daphné this." She says as she walks past Lucas towards Eliott, "and tell her...well, tell her that I need her. She'll know what it means. And if she tries to sway you again, hang on to the truth of your love. In times like these it's all any of us have."

  
Lucas hears her footsteps become distant and then slowly fade and disappear - going down to the basement.

  
Lucas is frozen in place. He wants to turn around but it's the hardest thing he has ever done in his life.

What will he see in Eliott's eyes ? Pity, compassion, anger, distance, desire ? 

  
He feels Eliott's presence coming closer before he hears it.

  
And then, soft and tentative like a butterfly's kiss, he feels fingers grazing his own.

  
Standing right behind him, Eliott is letting his fingers run along Lucas's, tips over knuckles and phalanges, a little calloused but soft, sending shivers over his whole body, pushing at the space between Lucas's fingers to beg to be let in.

He feels Eliott's presence like a wave ready to wash over him, and for a breathless moment, everything is suspended in time. Seen from there, all his fears seem so meaningless.

Eliott is reaching out, finally - towards him, towards Lucas, no one else...

He breathes, and lets Eliott take his hand.

If their earlier handholding was practical, this...this is not. This is everything but. It feels like kissing with their hands, like the answer to years and years of longing, like the only thing powerful enough to vanquish fear. Eliott's fingertips brush against Lucas's palm softly, as a greeting on the other side of the line. 

Lucas grips Eliott hand in his.

"Let's go get our friend back."

* * *

  
DIMANCHE 03:37 - ELIOTT

  
As they march into the dark once more, Eliott's heart is doing all sorts of loops.

He doesn't know what to think of the signals Lucas is sending anymore. At dinner he was flirting ; but then when they went to bed he didn't want to talk ; and then when Daphné revealed that Eliott was in love he announced he was gay in a way that sounded a lot like _and I'm very much not in love_.

Maybe Eliott misinterpreted Lucas's signals all along, or maybe Lucas got over him a long time ago, or maybe he decided that what ever existed between them wasn't worth pursuing. It would serve Eliott right, after the mess he's made of things.

But how could he refuse to profess the true nature of his love in circumstances such as these ?

The last few hours have thrown his view of the world upside down completely. In the middle of all this turmoil, his feelings for Lucas don't seem like a burden but a safe haven. What Manon said resonates deeply with him. Under that weird drunken spell, his deepest desire was only to be close to Lucas. And letting himself feel that, fully, for the first time without denial or fear….it felt so good, even though he didn't like the loss of control at all.

He's found a new truth in the midst of all this : he is not ashamed of his feelings, or how intense they can be.

He is terrified of what might happen next, but it's become very clear to him that they are in very real danger at the moment and the idea they might die without Lucas knowing how he truly feels ? Unbearable.

Besides, the way Lucas is holding his hand now...makes him have faith again his feelings might be reciprocated. Has he made himself clear enough, though ? Half of him wants to stop and push Lucas up against the nearest wall and kiss him like he's never been kissed in his entire life, to make sure his feelings are absolutely clear.

But first, Basile.

Alexia has told them they will find Daphne by knocking three times on the door at the end of the corridor on the last floor.

When they approach, there is music playing - a faint air like a vintage radio playing ballroom music.

They look at each other before knocking, finding the same sense of resolution in each other's eyes.

Eliott knocks on the door, three times. Then repeats the motion.

Finally, the music stops. The door opens. Daphne is standing in front of them once more. Behind her, a gigantic ballroom, with gleaming wooden floors and walls covered in mirrors, stretches out. It's clearly an illusion. Eliott wonders if Lucas can see it or if he's protected by his gay powers.

Basile is there too, in a black suit with coattails, arms raised mid air but immobile, as if frozen in the middle of a dancing pose. He looks very, very pale.

They can't help but rush into the room, towards him. 

"You again? What do you want ?" Daphne steps in front of them, blocking the way, and asks.

She looks angry. Her dress is even more extravagant than the last time they saw her : a golden collar fanning out behind her neck, golden train over her poufy skirt, ruffled sleeves that go on forever, sparkling tiara on her head. She looks like an old timey princess, capricious and decadent. Her eyes are rimmed red, her cheeks flushed.

For a second Eliott feels himself be slowly invaded by the same hazy, golden glow as before. It's tempting to give in, to be in a state where all he wants is cuddles. But he can't go there. Lucas needs better from him right now.

He closes his eyes and focuses on the sensation of their hands joined together.

"We need our friend back." Lucas says, unimpressed.

"Well, he doesn't need you. He's told me all about it. Some friends you are ! Always making fun of him and neglecting him. He's better off with me."

Eliott takes out the silver whip. Her face changes instantly ; her anger was an echo before, this is an inferno. The candles in the ballroom start blazing like columns of fire, her face becomes gaunt and her eyes glow red.

"Where did you get that ?"

"Manon gave it to me," Eliott says, and coughs. The air has become irrespirable, burning hot, in a few seconds. Lucas, next to him, is having trouble breathing as well. "She said...she said she needed you. That you...you'd know what it means. Please stop...it burns."

Daphne lets out a sudden wail of anguish, and puts her hands in front of her face.

"It's not fair ! She always does this ! She ignores me because she has better things to do but I can't...I can't leave her, I can't…" She rips the tiara out of her hair and throws it to the other side of the room. 

Okay then...seeing an unearthly being throw what looks like a tantrum while five minutes ago they thought she was going to kill them is a bit...uncongruous. But this whole night has been a series of surprises and she...Oh. Eliott realizes. That sounds a lot like she and Manon are...they're...

Well, apparently strange otherworldly women with incomprehensible powers have sentimental troubles, too.

"Maybe she's being an idiot." Eliott tries. He's taking a big shot in the dark there, but well. He can't help but think his experience might be a tiny bit relevant here. "Maybe she does care but she doesn't know how to express it. Maybe she's afraid that things will change between you. That she isn't worth…that she'll ruin things." 

He hears Lucas make a small noise of disbelief. 

"She is definitely being an idiot," Lucas adds, "if she doesn't trust what you could have together. That there is anything that could ruin you so easily."

He is definitely_ not_ talking about Manon.

Eliott turns his head. Lucas is already looking at him, cheeks flushed by the heat, eyes burning with something else than fire.

"Maybe she's a coward that doesn't deserve you," Eliott whispers.

"Maybe she is so used to fighting shadows she doesn't believe she deserves good things anymore." Lucas says.

His expression is so soft all of a sudden, sad but so full of care. "And maybe you know what it's like, to be afraid of fucking up relationships because everyone leaves except her, and so you've kept just as silent. But the thought of her suffering in silence is unbearable. And you don't want to let the shadows of the past haunt you anymore."

Lucas looks up at Eliott, fierce, determined, challenging. And Eliott knows he is talking about them, and his heart blossoms open as joy rushes through his veins. The forgiveness in his words, the courage...the acceptance...But of course, because that's who Lucas is. 

Daphne lets out a sob, breaking their little moment, and the temperature brutally drops. They turn back towards the door : the illusion is gone. Daphné is only wearing a simple, white lace gown, and the room is just a small, old fashioned salon in faded tones of brown and pink, fitting with the rest of the house.

And Basile finally notices them, a completely lost air on his face. He's back to his dinosaur pajamas, too.

"Hey guys...what's...what's just happened ? I was going to the bathroom and…"

"We need to go to the basement, all of us." Daphne says, urgency in her tone. "Manon thinks she can handle this on her own, but one of these days she is going to crack, and then we will all be in trouble."

She whirls out of the room, past them to the staircase, and they follow.

Maybe they shouldn't, maybe they should just all jump into the car and drive far far away, but he feels strangely implicated in the dramas of this strange house all of a sudden ; these women are scary and definitely not entirely human but he isn't sure they mean them harm anymore.

And besides, without coming here, how long would they have pined in silence ? Whatever is happening here, he needs to see it unfold to the end. 

* * *

  
DIMANCHE 04:01 - LUCAS

Lucas doesn't know if this end of the world shit is legit or not.

What he does know is that if he doesn't get to kiss Eliott extremely soon, he is going to die, and that's barely a euphemism.

But...skipping on stopping the potential apocalypse to make out...would be kind of a douchebag move, honestly.

The whole concept is completely insane, but barely more than Eliott liking him back. So, he's just going to go with the flow.

Also, all the shadows dancing on the walls and the loud thumping they can now and again ?

Very convincing.

They go right down to the basement. Daphne grabs a silver chandelier and leads them into the dark.

They're still holding hands ; it's clumsy with how fast they are going and how narrow the stairs become but Lucas has no intention of letting go any time soon.

They keep going down for a very, very long time. The air becomes humid, cavernous, smelling of confined spaces and soil and old things. The thumping becomes louder, faster, relentless, until it shakes the stone walls around them, and explodes in a thundering rumble.

Whatever is about to happen...it's probably happening now. Fuck. He does not want to die. At all. Even less than before. Especially not now. That would be the worst irony in the world. 

How far down does this place go ? Lucas wonders. He is starting to get really afraid again, so to distract himself he says to Basile's curly head, disappearing in front of them,

"Hey, Basile ?"

Basile doesn't turn or respond. Lucas briefly worries he is hypnotized again.

"You know you're going to find the girl of your dreams one day right ?"

Basile lets out a weird laugh.

"You mean I'm going to die alone, yeah ? Now we're all in trouble and it's my fault because I'm so desperate !"

"It's not your fault, Basile, that girl is some kind of vampire or something."

"Yeah, she messed with my head too, Bas." Eliott adds as they keep going down. The passage has started to grow larger again but the walls are not made of bricks anymore, but rough stone, as if they are walking down the bowels of a natural cavern, deep below the ground. Somewhere far away he can hear the sound of rushing water.

"Yeah and she would have gotten to me too if I wasn't gay…" Lucas swallows, "...and...and." His mouth won't let him say it, goddammit. Why is it so hard for him - for both of them apparently to say the words, to fucking talk to each other ? 

He's saved from having to justify himself as they finally hit solid ground - and a fetid smell invades their nostrils.

"Ugh ! Basile comments. That smells like boiled leftover sock !"

Daphne is already gone in a flash of white lace, so they have no choice but to follow. The tunnel twists and turns between jagged pans of rock, and they continue walking in a line in the dark, until, finally, the view opens up and they arrive at the entrance of a cave.

They find themselves gasping at the sight that awaits them.

The cave itself is not that big, although picturesque enough, the ceiling almost oppressively low, with a few hanging stalagtites for good measure. It's what's going on in the middle that shocks them.

The space is occupied by an ancient stone arena - crumbling, just a few steps deep into the ground. Around it, and on the walls, all sorts of occult looking symbols have been drawn in a thick, fluorescent substance, and the jars, deposited all around the resulting circle, are glowing from within.

Alexia stands holding one of the jars, her expression one of fierce focus, her eyes lit up by a purple glow. And Yann and Arthur as well, closer to the side, jars in their arms, eyes glowing orange and deep blue.

From the middle of the arena, a thick cloud of smoke has emerged from a crack in the ground, and something is happening in the middle, strange flashing shapes, the outline of a massive body. Teeth, eyes, tongues, way too many of them. It's repulsive, wrong in all possible ways. Just looking at him makes him sick. 

  
Manon is standing in the corner, arm raised in front of her holding the dagger, trembling.

  
Seems that they're late and the end of the world has already started. 

"Manon," a booming voice suddenly echoes out of nowhere, "my queen of darkness ! Accept your fate ! You belong at my side !" The column of smoke grows, starts to overshadow her.

"Never." Manon answers through gritted teeth, but her voice is weak, her face trembling as if her strength is faltering."You entitled piece of shit !"

"Boys !" Alexia yells at them from the other side of the cave, "Grab a jar ! Pour your energy into it !"

Lucas has no clue what is going on but he figures this is not the time to bring up existential questions so he follows Eliott and Basile in doing what they're told. He steps forward to the closest jar and brings it up to his chest.

He feels something unlock inside him, and as he looks at Basile and Eliott, he sees their eyes have lit up too : Basile green, Eliott pure gold. He wonders if his eyes are doing something equally freaky. It's an unbelievable feeling : he feels something is being drained from him but at the same time, he knows it's right. He wants to keep going. To make sure that the putrid horror in the middle of the room never steps out of it.

The circle on the ground glows brighter, as if bolstered by their participation.

In the meantime Daphne has run towards Manon, but the shadow is barring her access ; Manon is isolated, pressed against the rock wall.

"Manon," she cries out. "What are you doing ? Why did you give me the Demoncatcher ?" She gets the whip out.

"Because, I wanted you to remember our promise. What you were going to do to that boy...we don't have to let our powers make monsters of us, Daphy."

"I'm sorry ! I was acting out, being stupid ! You're so busy with the hellmouth, I thought…thought...I thought we were drifting apart. But you need this ! You can't take risks like these ! Why didn't you tell me this was happening !"

In the half dark Lucas thinks he can see tears on her cheeks. Wow, she may be some sort of vampire seductress who might have been about to kill his friend but...he can relate ? In a very weird way. Eliott drifting apart was the worst thing.

"I'm sorry as well, I became obsessed only because I wanted to protect this place, and you most of all…" Manon starts crying as well. "This horrible...he won't leave me alone…it's like a curse."

"You belong with me." The demonic voice starts again. "Join me in my kingdom of shadows, my dark beauty ! Reign at my side - or I will not stop until that remains of this puny dimension is a field of ruin and flame !" His voice echoes and makes the walls tremble. Lucas can feel it push against the circle they are holding together, an outwards pressure that makes his ears ring.

What a creepy douchebag, this fucking demon, Lucas thinks. 

"Daphy...it's the only way. I can't risk him coming through." Manon straightens her back, takes a step forward but her face is still desperate. 

"No !" Daphne yells. "Leave her alone, you creep !" She flashes the whip out, and strikes right at the middle of the cloud. The thing - demon - hisses in pain. She pulls the whip loose and it comes back dripping in black, slimy blood that smokes as it touches the ground.

The monstrous thing turns toward her, and starts to whirl and unfold and grow.

"Well well, who have we here? What a charming little thing. Why are you tickling me ? Are you volunteering ?"

In the middle of the cloud a mouth opens, snake like with fangs, and a disgustingly slimy tongue, long like a vine, lulls forward. It's the most disgusting fucked up thing Lucas has ever seen. Daphne flinches.

Funny how an hour or so ago he thought she was going to kill them, but now he's rooting for her to destroy that thing. As fast and hard as she can. 

"Daphy," Manon's voice comes through the smoke "Focus. You can do it. I believe in you."

Daphne raises her arm to strike, but before she can the demon's tongue darts out, grabs at her arm and pulls her in. She lets out a cry of surprise and disgust as the tongue wraps itself around her waist, locking her into the cloud of smoke. She lets out a yelp of surprise and disgust. 

"Well, if your friend won't come...I guess you will have to do...my little queen…" 

"Leave her alone !" They hear Manon yell, "or I swear to all the Unholy Powers I will go down to hell and kill you there myself."

"Well, it's only up to you to change your mind, my dark beauty. I care little for this bag of bird bones and sulfur. I will offer you all the riches and powers you desire."

The column pivots so they can see Manon again. Her face is pale and pinched, her eyes haunted and fixed on him, as if enthralled.

"An army of slaves to cater to your every whim." The demon continues. "Endless delights. Even better, let me out and we shall rule the Earth together. Why do you resist me ? Why do you resist your true nature, and hide amongst these feeble humans with these pathetic little friends of yours? Pretend to cling to virtue so desperately? I know how much you suffer inside these walls. I know you better than you know yourself. I have seen your dreams, I have seen the rivers of blood you long for. So much power and rage, contained and for what ? To make yourself as small as they are ? To teach your friends to hate their true nature as you do ? Stop this madness, Manon."

"Manon ! Don't listen to him ! I…" Daphne starts yelling but a puff of smoke comes over her mouth, muting her.

Little tendrils of smoke start rolling down and cling to Manon's dress, like encroaching leeches.

Lucas doesn't understand what is happening but he's pretty sure that if Manon says yes, they are all _incredibly _screwed. He can feel the demon's power hammering at their defenses relentlessly.

As he looks down to the ground he sees that a layer of smoke is advancing towards them as well. And there is nowhere to run. 

As it touches his feet he feels despair creep in, cold and dark and inescapable.

Suddenly he knows - he is a fool.

Eliott doesn't love him, because he is unlovable, needy, pathetic. He's just a shoulder to cry on but Eliott will find someone smarter, stronger, prettier, taller, someone who isn't such a neurotic mess, someone better in every possible way. It's probably already happened. He's just playing with him, and he is going to leave him just like anybody else. Why is he even trying? Everything is pointless. He wants to curl into a corner and cry until he stops existing.

He turns to Eliott. The gold in his eyes has dimmed to a bare glint, and he is crying.

  
His friends are crying as well, and so is Alexia, and the protective trace on the ground is barely a trace now.

The cloud in the middle grows and grows like some sort of nasty mushroom, obscuring both Manon and Daphne entirely.

It's too late. What use is saving the world now ? 

* * *

DIMANCHE 04:45 - ELIOTT

Darkness is choking him, obscuring his field of vision. His brain and heart are competing to see who can throw the most horrible, vicious images at him. He is very familiar with this sort of darkness, except this time, it's a thousand times more concentrated. Every hateful thought he has ever had about himself ; all the powerlessness and shame and uncertainty that has poisoned his life, his future, his relationship with Lucas…

Lucas...

Eliott turns and sees him there, sitting on the ground, head hanging low and curled over the jar. His eyes, previously lit like stars, are closed. It breaks Eliott's heart. This pain he is familiar with, but he can't stand it happening to Lucas too, who is always so fierce and brave and full of life.

_This is what will happen if he ever gets with you,_ an insidious voice whispers, _this is what you will do to him, with your broken brain and leaky heart, and it will be your fault, all your fault…_

"No !" He screams, and someone else is screaming too - or maybe it's all in his head.

The whole room is wreathed in smoke, he can't see anything and it's entering his airways now, charred and fetid and disgusting, and he is frozen in place, can't even escape if he wanted to…

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he hears someone playing the piano. It is a very familiar tune, only this time, it has an ending.

Eliott opens his eyes.

The girl he saw earlier at the piano, the ghost girl, is standing in the room, luminescent in the smoke-laden dark. The sound of piano is echoing in the entire room, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once, soft but persistent.

"Leave my family alone," Ghost Girl says.

The demon laughs, low and cavernous and mean.

"Or what ? I know who you are. You are the most pathetic of them all. You're the poor girl who threw herself in the lake because her boyfriend left her. And now all you can do is drift around and play your sad music like a boring sob story. What are you going to do, cry at me ?"

"Yes," Ghost Girl says, her voice wispy and immaterial, "my story is very sad.

When I was alive I spent my years being told by everyone who I should be and what I should do. And then I found someone I thought loved me for me. But he didn't. He was false. So I ended my life because I thought my life had no meaning anymore, that I was nothing without him.

But," and her voice gains in strength, "that is not the end of my story. I know who you are, I felt your cursed presence in these walls grow day by day, feeding my friends lies and poisoning their minds. Well, I have come to tell you to stop.

My story has no end. I have found a second life here with the generosity and love of my friends and now I am the spirit of this house. And I have come to tell you to leave my family alive."

"The power of love." The demon snarls."How touchingly sentimental."

"The power of truth." Ghost girl replies, glowing stronger and stronger by the minute. "You are no demon king. You are just a small reflection of the devil as a liar.

You are a parasite, and you have nothing to offer. You need our powers to keep yourself alive, you feed on our fears. But I have found you out now, and you are going to leave my family alone. We reject your lies. You have no power here."

Somehow, by magic probably, Eliott feels that the strain on his shoulders has become lighter, the smoke has receded somewhat. The power of truth, he realizes, and he struggles to speak, as he knows he should, tongue still heavy with dread.

But Lucas speaks first. Eliott turns his head and sees him standing, eyes blazing with renewed fervor, bright blue like little stars. Lucas, who already knows the power of truth. 

"I am gay," he says, and coughs."And I am also in love." He looks at Eliott. "I'm in love with you, Eliott. I have been ever since we met."

It goes straight to Eliott's heart, and suddenly, there is nothing else in the world but them. 

"I don't know what your deal is. Why you've been so distant lately, if it's anything I've done, I hope you tell me but I...I just can't hide anymore. I don't want to lose our friendship, man. You're everything to me. But...when I think about what we could be...well maybe you don't feel the same way. But I have to try. Power of truth, I guess."

The demon laughs, but it's strangled, struggling. His shape is becoming more defined.

Ghost Girl has vanished again, but she has given them the knowledge they need : they can beat this thing. 

"Yes! Alexia shouts."That's the right direction! Keep them coming !"

Eliott knows he needs to answer ; but his head and heart are a tender, bruised mess. He wants, needs to explain everything at once, and…

"Well, I think capitalism sucks." Yann beats him to the punch.

"That's not a secret, man." Arthur says.

"Yeah ok but I mean...sometimes I think I don't wanna grow up. I don't want to get a job and never be able to see my mates again and us all drifting apart and just...suddenly we're middle aged and complaining that we wasted our lives, you know ? I love you guys. I don't want our shenanigans to end. I mean...it's not a big secret but yeah. That's what I'm afraid of."

The demon's shape is man sized again. He is still holding Daphné in a wreath of smoke but they can see her now, struggling fiercely.

"Well, I also love you guys. I just…" Basile says. "I just never feel like I'm cool enough to hang with you guys. I can't get a girl and I don't know what to do with my life and I just...I know you're gonna drop me soon. Leave me behind."

"Man, that is complete nonsense." Yann says, and Arthur agrees."We wouldn't have nearly as much fun without you, man. You're always getting us into crazy shit. I mean, would we have had front tickets to the end of the world without you ?"

"Besides," Lucas adds,"I can't get a girl either."

They all laugh, in the middle of ongoing chaos, and it all makes sense, briefly, as if they're all wasted and bailed on a boring party to hang together and talk until dawn about how they're going to remake the world. 

"I can get a girl, but I don't think I want to," Arthur says, his voice more timid than it usually is. "I have thought about it a lot and I think I'm asexual. And aromantic, too. I just don't get the appeal of these things. It's just...difficult to talk about. I don't know. It took me a long time to realize it was really a thing you know ? And I think I was afraid your image of me would change. You know. I was kind of digging being the smooth lady killer."

"Man, you are always gonna be smooth." Yann replies immediately. The others cheer him on. 

"We're all losers," Lucas says, "or none of us are."

"Fuck yeah ! Except Eliott, he's just cool." Basile says.

Eliott coughs. Is he though ? He knows it's his turn to speak. Why is this so difficult ?

The smoke has cleared almost entirely, only a thin layer remaining around the struggling demon. Everyone is waiting for him to talk.

And he's safe. Nobody is going to judge him for being too much or too messy. He's around family here. Well, family and a bunch of weird demon fighting vampire witches. But, all things considered, they _are_ pretty okay.

He just hopes Lucas will understand. That he hasn't waited too long.

"Guys...I...don't know if you're cool, to be honest," talking fast before they all start shouting at him along the lines of _pretentious film student hipster, _"but I know you're great people. You guys took me in when I was so fucking lost, I had no friends...and I am so grateful I met you.

Bas, you're going to meet the girl of your dreams...just.. stop with the macho bullshit okay ? You have a heart of gold, you're perfectly good enough on your own without that crap, you don't need it. Yann, I know you're gonna change the world, man. Arthur, welcome to the family, and I will never not be convinced you're the smoothest motherfucker of the bunch. I love you guys.

Lucas, I…"

He takes a deep breath. It's now or never. 

"I love you, too. As in, I am in love with you. Wholly and totally and entirely." That means the same, fuck, he's rambling. "You're everything to me, and I've been so afraid to lose you and I..." His heart swells as if it's about to explode.He knows this is right, that he has so much love to give, if only he can manage...

"I've been offered an internship at an amazing independent film company. Thing of my dreams, really. But it's in New York and...when I got the news all I could think was...I can't leave you. And I took my distances because I hated hiding it from you but I knew I had no right...because I always kept you at arms length even though I knew how you were looking at me but… I've always thought you were too good for me. But right now the only thing I care about is to make you happy. I've been so stupid, I..." Fuck, is he making a mess of this ? He's talking way too fast. 

"And I know it's fucked up I didn't tell you earlier but...you're my home, Lucas. You really are."

Lucas's eyes shine so bright, it's blinding. Eliott can only see him. 

"How long is that internship ?"

"Six months, maybe more."

"That's nothing compared to a lifetime." 

Fuck, he's really going there, isn't he. With a huge grin, too, the little shit. 

If he wasn't holding the jars and maybe the safety of the world in his hands, Eliott would have thrown himself at him right this second. He never felt so happy in his entire life. It's so overwhelming he wants to drop to his knees. 

They don't have a monopoly on the moment, though. The world insists on going on. 

Suddenly he hears hissing.

He turns back his head towards the center of the room. The demon has the visible appearance of a man now, with brown hair and an arrogant air, save for red eyes, horns and red scales around his face and neck. It seems as if he's struggling to breathe and hold himself up. 

Daphne pushes herself lose and rushes to Manon's side.

Manon, free from the monster's thrall, takes her in her arms.

"I'm sorry I'm so shit at keeping my promise." Daphne says, looking the other woman in the eyes."I want to be good, I really do."

  
Manon closes her eyes and leans her forehead against Daphne's.

"I know you are trying, that's the most important thing. I am so sorry I let the poison of doubt come between us, my heart. That I tried to handle this alone. We are stronger together. And ...In all the centuries I have been walking the Earth, you have been the best and brightest part of my life. "

And then they are kissing, passionately, unimpeded by any pesky jars.

Eliott is really happy for them, and also jealous, and slightly terrified by the bit about the centuries.

The demon hisses and laughs again. "What a pathetic…"

But before he can finish, in a flash of inhuman speed, Daphne has wrapped her silver whip around his torso, holding him in place for Manon to plunge the dagger in his heart.

"_This_ is my true nature, motherfucker." Manon says, a smug look on her face. 

And then her hand, in a feat of inhuman strength, is punching into his ribcage and pulling out a blackened, shrivelled heart. It scatters into ash as soon as she lets it fall on the ground.

Wow. 

They did it.   
  
They saved the fucking world. 

Alexia moves forward.

"Well I have no secrets, but I don't think you're gonna like this either."

And she upends her jar on the demon's corpse. The bright liquid bubbles and dissolves the body in a matter of seconds. When it's done, little blue fluorescent mushrooms start sprouting all over in its place. Alexia bends over them, curiosity on her face as if she was just walking around the forest on a balmy evening.

"Well look at that. Demon mushrooms. Bet they have fascinating properties." She looks around the cave. "And I've always wanted a cave to cultivate mushrooms in. And maybe a few ghost orchids…"

She trails off on her own.

Eliott looks at Lucas. His eyes have stopped shining. It's just Lucas. The best Lucas of them all, and he is smiling at Eliott, shyly. Eliott really wants to kiss him but somehow, the moment doesn't feel quite right yet. And he wants to get it right really badly.

Arthur barges in, throwing his arms around Eliott's shoulder.

"I knew it. I knew something was going on between you two. Didn't I, Yann ?"

"Hey, no I knew it way before. Remember last Easter…" Yann replies, and they keep bickering as they start going back up the stairs.

"Shall we go up ?" Lucas proposes, and reaches his hand out to Eliott.

He takes it. He really would follow Lucas anywhere.

* * *

  
DIMANCHE 05:40 - LUCAS

They find themselves sitting around the dinner table, in various states states of exhaustion and messiness, draped over chairs, heads and feet rested on the table. Not up to separating just yet - still processing the aftershocks of the battle. 

Alexia is tending to Manon's hellhound wounds, with a strange blue paste that smells like mint, while Daphne is holding Manon's hand ; the two have been glued to other's side since they came back up.

Basile got everyone drinks from the kitchen, including a bag of blood for Manon, which she is sipping from through a little straw, her cheeks slowly regaining color. Daphne refused anything for herself, but she thanked Basile emphatically.

Eliott keeps sneaking glances towards Lucas that are anything but subtle. It's funny how awkward he is, compared to a few hours earlier, but Lucas wouldn't exchange it for the world. Because this time Eliott is fully present, and fully aware. And he still wants Lucas, and that's...better than any fairytale, really. With all the completely improbable things that have happened in the last few hours, and it's still the one reality he has trouble adapting to. 

But honestly, give him a few hours and he will have more than adapted. Besides, he is pretty sure that if he puts some effort into it, he really can make cuddly Eliott return to the forefront. That is a challenge he would really really like to tackle.

They've just saved the world. They deserve some alone time. 

"So," Yann asks Manon, never one to avoid difficult questions, "is that blood from somebody you killed or…"

"Blood bank." Daphne fills in, hastily.

"What were you gonna do anyway," Alexia says with a slightly threatening laugh, "call the police ?"

Yann sighs. "Alright fair point. And I guess you did just save the world…"

"We are not perfect," Manon falls in. "What we are...the world is not ready to know, or understand. We struggle with dark pulsions of our own. We have...failed, in the past. But we keep each other in check. And we keep watch, at this gate to the Underworld, and make sure nothing gets through. All in all, I think the world is better with us in it. Although," she says with a slight smile,"you really should have stayed in your rooms."

"Are you going to tell people about us ?" Daphne says, her tone slightly hostile.

"Nah," Lucas says. "Gay rights. What do you think, Basile ?"

"It's alright. Guess I'll have to stop following girls around like that, huh ? Cause the next one will probably eat me at this rate."

They all laugh.

"You do have a nice energy." Daphne says.

"Um, thanks."

"That's what I eat," Daphne explains." Energy from people. And it's a bit difficult to get from the blood bank. So sometimes I slip up a little. But I don't kill people. Well, not anymore."

This is all really fucked up when he thinks too much about it, but in the state of exhaustion and elation Lucas is in, he can't really find it in him to give a fuck. And there is something about surviving a mini apocalypse together. It's a bonding experience, really.

And he wanted quality bonding time, huh.

"You should come to college," Basile says. "I'm sure there's plenty of guys who could use a lesson or two."

Daphne inclines her head.

"That is an interesting idea. I will think about it. Thank you." Then she turns to Manon and kisses her cheek. "Not for a while though. I think we need to have some private time."

"There, I'm done." Alexia says, and puts the salve down.

Manon thanks her, then gets up, and addresses them all.

"I want to thank you all for your help. For a bunch of humans, you are all remarkably level headed. I'm not sure we would have succeeded without you. You are welcome to stay and rest for as long as you need. I just hope that when you leave...you will know how to remain discrete. It would pain me to have to come after you."

Well that's ...not terrifying at all.

"What about if we see something else that's magic ?" Arthur asks.

"Well then, I suggest you do like most people and ignore it. Or don't. But now you know what's out there. It bites, and I can promise you it's not often as well behaved as us."

She twines her arm around Daphne's waist and gets ready to leave. "Now if you'll excuse me, my girl and me need some well deserved rest, and the sun is about to rise."

Everyone says their goodbyes and thanks.

"Mind your wounds, will you," Alexia adds, cheekily.

"I'm an immortal vampire." Manon responds slightly petulantly." I am indestructible, and I can do as I please."

Daphne giggles, airy with love and affection, and they are gone in a flurry of wild hair and lacy skirts, too fast for their eyes to even process.

Alexia rolls her eyes, advises them to get some rest and leaves to go bake some bread.

"Wow," Arthur says, "I feel like a bulldozer just rolled over me. I really should have gone to Morocco with Imane and Sofiane."

"Psshhh," Yann says, "as if they'd let you join." Then he turns to look at Eliott and Lucas. "Oh my god guys. I can't believe we are gonna have have another sappy couple on our hands. I'm scared already."

Lucas is sure he is bright red now. The casualness of them bringing it up as if it is already a natural fact...even though technically it hasn't even _happened_ yet...

Eliott, not embarrassed in the least, just shrugs and laughs. "You're just jealous."

"Eh, no, I mean I love you guys don't get me wrong, but…"

"I'm jealous." Basile chimes in.

"Sorry Basile" Lucas can't help but tease, "but you're like...the straightest guy I know."

  
"No...I mean...I want a great love story, too, you know ?"

Aw, damn. And then thought they were being subtle...although, yes. Declarations of love as the world is ending? Yes. That qualifies.

This is all...completely surreal.

"There is a lot more to life, dude." Arthur says. "But I'm sure you'll get there. In the meantime how about a great bromance, huh ?"

They all cheer to that and clink their glasses against each other, even though it's bad luck to do so with water - because really, from where they're at…

The conversation stretches out and veers into a replay of the night, with added jokes and commentary. They are all blitzed, but still way too high on adrenaline to sleep. This is going to take them a long time to process, but one thing is sure, they're bonded in a way now that will probably unite them for the rest of their lives. 

Across the table, Eliott smiles, eyes red-rimmed, and face sleepy. A private little smile, meant for Lucas only. Then he gestures towards the door with a little nod of the head. 

Lucas nods. They do need to have that talk. Finally. 

They get up at exactly the same time and leave, under the very embarassing and slightly graphic encouragement of their friends, into the now silent house. After the stinking, closed-off cave, Lucas really needs some fresh air. 

They make it to the garden. The sky has started to lighten up and dawn is very close, the horizon painted in shades of pale blue and tentative pink. Drops of dew have gathered on the grass and leaves, shimmering in the frosty air. A few hours ago, this place was terrifying. But now, it's beautiful. It feels as if they are the only two people in the world. Like everything was restarted last night and is fresh and new and heavy with promise. 

They walk through a little path in the grass, past the greenhouse, without really knowing where they're going. Somehow along the way, they've found each other's hand again. It's quickly becoming a natural gesture. 

Eliott pulls him along, and Lucas follows, heart beating a steady rhythm in his veins. 

They walk and walk, and slowly around them nature is awakening. Lucas doesn't know where they're going, but walking together like this, in silence, it feels so right. So intimate, so easy. He can feel that their relationship is changing by the minute, and he appreciates the extra time to come to terms with it. As if they are marking the occasion. Hovering in limbo one last time before they make the final jump. 

Finally, they come to a stop, at the edge of a field, on top of a slight slope. Mist is rolling low from the hills, and the countryside opens up around them.

The trees dotting the landscape are starting to show their autumn colors in the early morning light, in shades of russet brown and light gold. One star in particular is bright in the sky, announcing the sun. Next to them there is a thick bramble bush still hanging full of blackberries. 

Eliott goes toward it and starts picking, while Lucas breathes in lungfuls of chilly fresh air, and enjoys the sights. Everything around them, but mostly the sight of Eliott and his messy hair and long, flappy black coat. 

_ I can't believe it. He likes me back. He said I'm his home. He loves me.  _

In the distance, a flock of birds rises in the air gracefully, moved by one common purpose. He has no mind for poetry but this, this is some real, live beauty. He is also so tired everything is hazy at the edges, so that probably contributes, and yet he has never felt more awake. 

Eliott comes back to him, takes his hand and deposits a handful of mushy berries in his hand. The first one Lucas eats is an explosion of taste on his tongue, tart and sweet and still humid with dew. Eliott looks at him while he does the same, smiling so wide. Their breaths create little clouds in the air around them. They've never been this silent with one another, but it doesn't read like awkwardness. Instead it's for certain a little bit of shyness, but mostly awe, and so much comfort. 

Lucas's heart is so full. 

Finally Eliott licks the tip of his fingers, stained purple by the berries, and speaks.

"What a night, huh ?"

Lucas laughs, voice scratchy in his throat.

"Yeah, I mean...ghosts are real ? I'm having an existential crisis right there man. Should I drop biochem and become a Ghostbuster ?"

Eliott laughs, soft and deep.

"I think if we did that Manon would definitely come after us, I don't think she was kidding."

"I think we would be a good team though…"

Oh _ we _ , huh ? 

"Yeah…"

"I've been thinking…"

"Oh no…" 

Eliott pushes at his shoulder and laughs. 

"Shut up ! Anyway...What ghost girl said to me earlier on...she was stuck on the music and I told her to pick her own ending and she told me she couldn't...but I could. I've been thinking about that and I…"

He looks away into the distance, clasps his arms around himself nervously. "I think I've been looking at everything in a very black and white way. Thinking I have to pick between set endings that would all make me unhappy. Either I go to New York and I lose you or I stay here and I have to give up my dreams. But...now I'm thinking there are other options. And…"

He pauses and bites his lip. "I'm sorry I got closed off, I just...know...my brain lies to me sometimes. What we felt in the cave, it was familiar, you know, just much stronger. So maybe if we were able to defeat that one monster, maybe... I can find ways to shut up the one in my brain too, the one that is constantly telling me I'm broken or that I'm going to fuck everything up."

Lucas's heart is all mushy, and he steps closer to Eliott. He wants to hug him so badly but he has to talk first. 

"I'm sorry you... I don't know what it's like. But that...thing downstairs, it came to me too, saying all these things about how I'm not good enough for you and I believed it for a while because those are my fears, too." 

For a moment Lucas is brought back there, and he has to take an instant. It's over. They beat the thing. And when he spoke his love and truth out loud, down in that cave, he felt so strong and so sure. He doesn't want to ever forget that. 

"But we just have to keep telling it the truth, no matter how hard. And the truth is...well, we don't know, right ? We might make a mess of things sometimes...I mean we are human, right ? We both have flaws. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't give it a chance. I don't want something perfect. I just want you, and I know you, Eliott. You have so much to offer to the world. I don't want you to drop everything in your life or set your dreams aside for me. I just want you to know that...I'll be there. As a baseline. Someone you can come back to." Lucas doesn't think he's ever been this eloquent about feelings before. The end of the world was...liberating in a sense. "And I think we can figure the rest out." 

Eliott comes closer, and takes both of Lucas's hands in his. 

Lucas's heart is hammering in his chest, deafening to his own ears in the morning silence. 

"Minute by minute, huh?" Eliott's throwback to their old mantra for rough days has him smile. 

"Yeah," he answers, voice almost overcome by emotion,"but...I wouldn't mind if we made plans for more. I wasn't kidding when I said ...you're my best friend in the entire world. But I'm ready for more. I want more." 

Eliott brings Lucas's hands to his lips and kisses them, delicately. And all Lucas's doubts and insecurities vanish into the wind like scattering dandelion fluff. 

"You deserve everything." Eliott says, barely a whisper. "And I want to give you everything I have. I'm done being scared." 

Lucas sees it then, stretching in front of them : their lives, entwined and so full of promise - starting with this one unbelievable night. 

It's a world of wonders and miracles, ghost girls and vampire witches. 

And Eliott, who loves him back.

Lucas doesn't know who moves first, but it doesn't matter. One moment they are standing quietly and the next, they're kissing.

Eliott kisses him with his whole heart, zero to a hundred in a second, hands knotted in Lucas's hair, body pressing against his, urgent, withholding nothing. His mouth tastes like berries and rain and smoke, lips cold but velvet hot on the inside. Lucas gives himself over to the kiss entirely. In this moment, nothing else matters. They're uncoordinated at first, messy, too hungry to be delicate, but it takes them almost no time to find a rhythm. Eliott's tongue licks into his mouth, and Lucas knows it's his first taste of heaven. 

They kiss and kiss, until they are dizzy, until Lucas's nerves are frazzled and his heart is melting, until he isn't sure what's up and what's down and they're just clinging to each other to keep upright. 

They are very close to just rolling into the grass when they're interrupted by the first ray of sunshine to breach the sky. It paints the whole scene in shivering gold, playing through Eliott's mussed hair and hitting his eyes just right, and Lucas is breathless. Eliott looks like he is having a similar epiphany, and laughs. It's the most beautiful sound in the entire universe.

Lucas rests his forehead against Eliott's. 

"I'm really happy we saved the world."

Eliott laughs.

"Yeah, me too."

They stay there for a moment more, as the sun discovers the world anew, and they discover each other. Then Eliott, blushing, separates them and wraps his arms around Lucas and whispers once more. 

"Now, uh...wanna go see if that bed is still there, too ?" 

  
  


….

  
  


It takes them a while to go back to the guest house, as they stop to kiss every hundred meters or so. Lucas was right : cuddly and clinging Eliott wasn't far from the surface. And he wants to make an art of making him this worked up, this out of breath, this needy and sweet. 

As they take a turn of the path Lucas doesn't recognize, suddenly, through the trees, he sees glimmering water. Large enough to be a lake. Eliott has seen it too, and they stop.

"Do you think she's there now?" 

The world is eerily quiet for a moment as they consider Ghost Girl's story.

"Nah," Eliott says, finally. "This is just where she died. But she lives in the house now. With her family."

"Do you think...she would like it if I played piano for her ? Before we leave ?"

"Yeah, I think she would." Eliott kisses his temple. "And so would I."

  
  


Finally, they make it back to their rooms. The house has fallen silent. They don't even take time to close the blinds - just peel each other's clothes off in the shy light of dawn, until they're in their boxers, and fall into bed. 

  
  


Eliott draws their solitary blanket over them, making a little cocoon, before he bears down on Lucas. 

  
  


Lucas is lost in sensation. The silky feel of Eliott's skin against his, the warmth and pressure of his body, the way his fingers curve around the softest parts of him, the way everything aligns just right. He wants this moment to stretch our forever. But exhaustion strikes him, after the longest night of their lives, and consciousness slips through his fingers like mist. 

  
  


There will be more time to talk, and love, and make the future they want. But now, it's just this. Just them, and everything is right with the world. 

  
  


They tumble into sleep together, limbs entwined, as the light breaks through blue curtains. Warm, safe. 

Home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you liked it and you had a happy halloween ! Stay tuned as I make up another seasonal prompt list for Christmas and finish the stories in March or something 
> 
> i might write a fluffy/smutty epilogue if enough ppl tell me they want it (and what they liked about the fic because my adhd brain needs constant feedback and validation to thrive. it's scientifically proven.) <3
> 
> ahhhh it's just so satisfying to write a happy ending for those two <33333


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